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Lanka’s feat on malaria elimination hailed
View(s):Sri Lanka came under much praise from health experts at a three-day conference in Colombo for successfully eliminating malaria.
Addressing media personnel at the end of the conference on ‘Sri Lanka’s achievements in Malaria Elimination’ at the Galle Face Hotel, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said since October 2012 no malaria cases had been reported and that the government would do its best to see that this stability was maintained.
He said this was a major achievement, given the havoc the disease caused during the epidemic in 1935. Sir Richard Feacheam, Chairman of Malaria Elimination Group, handed a declaration on Malaria Elimination to Mr. Srisena. “The country’s complete elimination of malaria is a success of its own kind. With the tourism industry booming after the end of civil war, this achievement will further enhance the growth of the country,” Mr. Feacheam said.
Explaining how the country reached such heights, Dr. Palitha Mahipala, Director General of Health Services, said that attaining zero case was not an easy task and was a result of an integrated effort of various health programmes.“We detected malaria in migrant workers and tourists arriving from malaria-prone countries. Immediately, we started extensive health checkups at airports and treated the affected tourists or workers for free,” Dr. Mahipala said.
However, he warned that the success may be short lived if such health programmes were not maintained. “Malaria is a fatal disease and it may resurge if proper heed is not given to it,” Dr. Mahipala said. He also said Sri Lanka was now focusing on getting a certification from World Health Organisation for being the world’s first tropical island to get rid of malaria.