Victory against malaria a notable feat

China was awarded a malaria-free certification from the World Health Organization on Wednesday. This is, as the WHO says in its news release, a "notable feat" for a country that reported 30 million cases of the disease annually before the eradication efforts started.

"Today we congratulate the people of China on ridding the country of malaria," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. "Their success was hard-earned and came only after decades of targeted and sustained action."

So far, 40 countries and regions have been granted malaria-free certification from the WHO. And China is the first country in the WHO Western Pacific Region to get the WHO's malaria-free certification in more than three decades.

Takeshi Kasai, regional director, 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."

From the 1950s, China started providing preventive antimalarial medicines for people at risk of the disease as well as treatment for those who had fallen ill. In 1967, it launched a project aimed at finding new treatments for malaria, involving more than 500 scientists from 60 institutions, which led to the discovery of artemisinin in the 1970s－the core compound of artemisinin-based combination therapies is the most effective antimalarial drug available today.

"Over many decades, China's ability to think outside the box has served the country well in its own response to malaria, and also had a significant ripple effect globally," said Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme.

With all the Chinese people having access to affordable services for the diagnosis and treatment of malaria, the country has further reduced its malaria caseload through strict adherence to the timelines of the "1-3-7" strategy. The "1" signifies the one-day deadline for health facilities to report a malaria diagnosis; by the end of day "3", health authorities are required to confirm the case and determine the risk of the disease spreading; and, within"7" days, appropriate measures must be taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

These are not only achievements China has made in protecting public health, but also valuable experience it offers to nations still fighting the disease.