China's victory over malaria 'notable feat', WHO says

The World Health Organization declared China free of malaria on Wednesday, hailing it "a notable feat" for a country that reduced its annual malaria cases from 30 million to zero within 70 years. 

The WHO said China had become the first country in the Western Pacific region to eliminate the mosquito-borne disease in over three decades, after Australia, Singapore and Brunei. 

"Their success was hard-earned and came only after decades of targeted and sustained action," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the group, said in a statement released on Wednesday. 

"With this announcement, China joins the growing number of countries that are showing the world that a malaria-free future is a viable goal," he said. 

Takeshi Kasai, regional director of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, said, "China's tireless effort to achieve this important milestone demonstrates how strong political commitment and strengthening national health systems can result in eliminating a disease that once was a major public health problem." 

The certification of malaria elimination is granted by WHO to a country when it registers no local infections for at least three consecutive years and demonstrates the capacity to prevent possible transmission in the future. 

Forty countries and territories have been issued the certificate so far, according to the WHO.