Malaria has been completely eradicated in Egypt, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Sunday, calling the achievement "truly historic" and the culmination of nearly a century of efforts to eradicate the disease.
"Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that struck the pharaohs is now part of its history, not its future," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
"The certification of Egypt as a malaria-free country is truly historic and demonstrates the commitment of the Egyptian people and government to rid themselves of this age-old scourge," he added.
Globally, 44 countries and one territory have been certified as malaria-free.
Certification of malaria elimination is granted by WHO when a country has demonstrated that the chain of mosquito-borne malaria transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years.
A country must also demonstrate its ability to prevent re-establishment of transmission.
According to WHO, malaria kills more than 600,000 people each year, including 95,000 in Africa.
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