The Ministry of Health commemorates, alongside the rest of the world, the World Malaria Day, which is observed on April 25 every year, in support of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s efforts to protect people from life-threatening diseases. The occasion aims to raise awareness of the importance of prevention as a main strategy to curb the spread of Malaria.

Malaria is one of the diseases which constitute a burden for the whole world. The Bahraini government has harnessed all the needed efforts and resources to combat the disease which was endemic in Bahrain in the 1930’s. It established the Malaria Control Department in 1939 to start malaria control programmes on a regular basis. Thanks to the tremendous efforts and continuous control, the last case of local transmission of malaria was recorded in 1979. The Kingdom of Bahrain was officially declared free of malaria by WHO in 1982.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is considered one of the first countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to eliminate malaria. Since then the Kingdom is proud of its achievement of 44 continuous years without local transmission of malaria thanks to the efforts of all workers at the Ministry of Health and other concerned sectors to keep Bahrain free from malaria.

Source: Bahrain News Agency