Overview

• The last local Plasmodium falciparum case was recorded in 2018 and the final Plasmodium vivax case in 2021, satisfying WHO’s three-year interruption requirement for elimination certification.
• Suriname is the 46th country and the first in the Amazon region to be certified malaria-free by WHO, joining 12 others in the Americas.
• A multi-decade effort combined coastal indoor residual spraying, artemisinin-based therapies, rapid diagnostic tests, insecticide-treated nets and a network of community health workers to reach remote areas.
• Since 2005, the Global Fund, PAHO and U.S. initiatives have expanded diagnostics and prevention in high-risk populations and will maintain support through 2027 to prevent reintroduction.
• Health experts say Suriname’s achievement demonstrates that malaria elimination is possible in challenging tropical forest environments.