Six African nations could be malaria-free by 2020: WHO

Six countries in Africa, the continent where malaria is most widespread, could be free of the disease by 2020, according to a WHO report published yesterday to mark World Malaria Day.

One of the goals of the World Health Organization's 2016-2030 programme against malaria is to wipe out the disease in at least 10 countries by the end of this decade.

"WHO estimates that 21 countries are in a position to achieve this goal, including six countries in the African Region, where the burden of the disease is heaviest," the Geneva-based organisation said in a statement.

These countries are Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Comoros, South Africa and Swaziland.

In South Africa the elimination of malaria is a public health objective. The country registered 11,700 cases of the disease in 2014 -- down from 64,000 in 2000 -- with most diagnoses coming from areas bordering Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.