Ashgabat Statement - WHO European Region pledges to sustain malaria-free status
On 4 September, Moscow hosted the official presentation of the Ashgabat Statement “Preventing the re-establishment of malaria transmission in the WHO European Region.” The ceremony was attended by Pedro Alonso, Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme, Nedret Emiroglu, Director of the Division of Health Emergencies and Communicable Diseases at WHO/Europe and representatives of 10 signatory countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The adoption of this document, based on the 2005 Tashkent Declaration "The move from malaria control to elimination" was preceded by the first WHO high-level consultations on the prevention of recurrence of malaria in European region, held last July in Ashgabat. The formal launch of the Ashgabat statement is “marking an important step on the road from malaria control to malaria elimination, and then on to maintaining malaria-free status”, says press release of the WHO regional office for Europe. The eight clauses of the declaration reflect the political commitment of the parties to prevention of the malaria local transmission and effective monitoring over the resumption of infections through the adoption of national strategies. Since 2010, Turkmenistan has been certified by WHO as a country free from malaria, becoming the first nation among 53 countries of European region having gained such status. The country has a plan for prevention the return of malaria, caused by disease transfer from dangerous areas. The full text of the Ashgabat Statement is here.
