Health Minister, Amar Ramadhin, announced the good news and spoke of a historic milestone. “WHO congratulates Suriname on this remarkable achievement,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This certification is a powerful affirmation of the principle that everyone—regardless of nationality, background, or migration status—deserves universal access to malaria diagnosis and treatment. Suriname’s steadfast commitment to health equity serves as an inspiration to all countries striving for a malaria-free future.”

“This victory is the result of more than 30 years of dedicated efforts that were made by fieldworkers, medical personnel and policymakers,” said  Ramadhin. “For many years malaria was one of the deadliest  infectious diseases  in Suriname especially in the hinterland. Today we close that chapter,” said Ramadhin. Certification of malaria elimination is granted by WHO when a country has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years. Although there are still cases of imported malaria, no local transmissions have been detected and registered.

Minister Ramadhin warned against believing that malaria is a thing of a past. “The threat still exists especially in neighboring countries like Guyana and Brazil where tens of thousands of cases occur on an annual basis,” said Ramadhin. Suriname did what was needed to eliminate malaria—detecting and treating every case quickly, investigating to prevent spread, and engaging communities,” said Dr Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), WHO’s regional office for the Americas. “This certification reflects years of sustained effort, especially reaching remote areas. It means future generations can grow up free from this potentially deadly disease.”