E- 20 20 C ou nt ry B rie f Eswatini continues to push towards elimination with intensive efforts underway to see the country become malaria-free as soon as possible, or by 2020 at the latest. The path to zero indigenous malaria cases is clearly outlined in Eswatini’s 2015-2020 national strategic plan for elimination. With support provided for this roadmap at the highest levels of government, Eswatini has all requisite tools and systems in place to get to zero by 2020. However, the 724 indigenous malaria cases in 2017 is nearly double the number reported in 2016, demonstrating the difficulty in achieving elimination even in a low-transmission setting. As Eswatini nears elimination, the country is focusing its efforts on identifying all suspected infections through rapid diagnostic tests and ensuring cases are treated and reported within a 24-hour period. As more than one third of the country’s population lives in areas where malaria transmission occurs, mainly during the rainy season, this rapid response approach, combined with intensified surveillance and targeted vector control, are required if Eswatini is to reach and sustain its elimination goal. ESWATINI (Kingdom of) 724 indigenous malaria cases in 2017 403 imported malaria cases in 2017 20 malaria deaths in 2017 E- 20 20 C ou nt ry B rie f 0 250 500 750 1000 20172016201520142013201220112010 ESWATINI (Kingdom of) GETTING BACK ON COURSE Eswatini will need to: Focus on interrupting indigenous transmission by: ensuring access to diagnostic tools; proactively screening populations with an increased risk of infection, particularly people living and working in high-transmission areas; sensitizing people to sleep under long-lasting insecticidal nets; and implementing indoor residual spraying in communities in high-transmission areas. Strengthen mosquito surveillance to better inform malaria control strategies. Expand use of geospatial mapping to zero in on malaria hotspots and tailor response interventions accordingly. Use its leadership role in regional malaria elimination initiatives, such as the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and the Elimination 8 initiative of the Southern Africa Development Community, to promote greater cross-border collaboration, particularly with Mozambique. MALARIA IMPACT number of indigenous malaria cases 2010-2017 Populations at greater risk: Inhabitants of the Lubombo region bordering Mozambique Dominant malaria species: Plasmodium falciparum (100%) Number of areas (foci) with active malaria transmission: not provided Number of people at risk of malaria in these areas: 376 000 AT A GLANCE 724 350 157 711 962 562549 268 Source: World malaria report 2018 WHO/CDS/GMP/2018.11/Eswatini – © WHO 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.
E- 20 20 C ou nt ry B rie f Eswatini continues to push towards elimination with intensive efforts underway to see the country become malaria-free as soon as possible, or by 2020 at the latest. The path to zero indigenous malaria cases is clearly outlined in Eswatini’s 2015-2020 national strategic plan for elimination. With support provided for this roadmap at the highest levels of government, Eswatini has all requisite tools and systems in place to get to zero by 2020. However, the 724 indigenous malaria cases in 2017 is nearly double the number reported in 2016, demonstrating the difficulty in achieving elimination even in a low-transmission setting. As Eswatini nears elimination, the country is focusing its efforts on identifying all suspected infections through rapid diagnostic tests and ensuring cases are treated and reported within a 24-hour period. As more than one third of the country’s population lives in areas where malaria transmission occurs, mainly during the rainy season, this rapid response approach, combined with intensified surveillance and targeted vector control, are required if Eswatini is to reach and sustain its elimination goal. ESWATINI (Kingdom of) 724 indigenous malaria cases in 2017 403 imported malaria cases in 2017 20 malaria deaths in 2017 E- 20 20 C ou nt ry B rie f 0 250 500 750 1000 20172016201520142013201220112010 ESWATINI (Kingdom of) GETTING BACK ON COURSE Eswatini will need to: Focus on interrupting indigenous transmission by: ensuring access to diagnostic tools; proactively screening populations with an increased risk of infection, particularly people living and working in high-transmission areas; sensitizing people to sleep under long-lasting insecticidal nets; and implementing indoor residual spraying in communities in high-transmission areas. Strengthen mosquito surveillance to better inform malaria control strategies. Expand use of geospatial mapping to zero in on malaria hotspots and tailor response interventions accordingly. Use its leadership role in regional malaria elimination initiatives, such as the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and the Elimination 8 initiative of the Southern Africa Development Community, to promote greater cross-border collaboration, particularly with Mozambique. MALARIA IMPACT number of indigenous malaria cases 2010-2017 Populations at greater risk: Inhabitants of the Lubombo region bordering Mozambique Dominant malaria species: Plasmodium falciparum (100%) Number of areas (foci) with active malaria transmission: not provided Number of people at risk of malaria in these areas: 376 000 AT A GLANCE 724 350 157 711 962 562549 268 Source: World malaria report 2018 WHO/CDS/GMP/2018.11/Eswatini – © WHO 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.