Health
2023 Malaria Champions Named and include DR, Belize and Suriname in the Caribbean
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
November 14, 2023 – The Dominican Republic, Belize and Suriname are awardees as Malaria Champions of the Americas, 2023.
Also awarded were the Brazilian city of Manaus and Mexican state of Quintana Roo.
These countries and cities in the Americas were celebrated during the 2023 Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Malaria Champions of the Americas prizegiving held on Monday November 6th.
It was an event to mark, Malaria Day in the Americas, according to a press release from the Government of St. Lucia.
Each winner was praised for their sustained actions toward malaria elimination in the Region. PAHO and its
The release highlighted specifically the accomplishment of each country that got them spots as successful fighters against Malaria.
For The Dominican Republic, it said it was its move to disrupt the transmission of malaria by 2022 in Los Tres Brazos, the main urban focus of the disease in recent years.
Belize was singled out for its continued efforts to eliminate the disease, copping WHO certification as a malaria-free country in 2023.
Suriname was awarded for being the first Amazonian country to report zero malaria cases for a year.
For the Mexican state, it was its efforts to interrupt malaria transmission, as well as to prevent the re-establishment of the disease in a context of high population mobility.
And for Brazil, The municipality of Manaus was “distinguished for its intensified surveillance initiatives to interrupt the transmission of P. falciparum.”
The Malaria Champions is a collaborative effort between PAHO, the United Nations Foundation, the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Communication Programs, the Florida International University and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Health.