The World Health Organization (WHO) certified Timor-Leste and Suriname as malaria-free in the past month. In January, Georgia also received malaria-free certification from the WHO. With these additions, the WHO now certified a total of 47 countries and one territory as malaria-free.
In the WHO Southeast Asia region, Timor-Leste is the third country to be certified malaria-free, joining the Maldives and Sri Lanka, which were certified in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Malaria is a serious global health problem. By 2023, there are an estimated 263 million malaria cases and nearly 600,000 deaths from malaria in 83 countries. The highest prevalence is in Africa, where 94% of cases and 95% of deaths occur. In Africa, the majority of malaria deaths, approximately 76%, are children under 5 years old. Global cooperation through the Global Fund is an effort to eliminate malaria in endemic areas.