Suriname Makes History as First Malaria-Free Amazonian Country

WASHINGTON—Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) certified Suriname as malaria-free, making it the first country in the Amazonian region in South America to eliminate malaria. Now, a total of 46 countries and one territory around the world have received malaria-free certifications. 

“Today, we celebrate Suriname’s historic achievement. Through the efforts of governments, frontline health workers, and local communities, Suriname has implemented long-lasting measures to expand access to life-saving malaria services for everyone, everywhere, and ultimately defeated malaria,” said Margaret Reilly McDonnell, Executive Director of United to Beat Malaria. “This milestone inspires others in the region to follow and moves us in the right direction towards eliminating this deadly disease in the Americas and the world.”  

In the 1960s, the country successfully controlled malaria transmission along the densely populated coast by increasing access to diagnosis and treatment and employing indoor residual spraying with DDT insecticide. In the 1970s, the focus shifted to the remote Amazonian hinterlands, strengthening primary health care capacities to bring malaria services closer to indigenous Maroon and Amerindian communities.  

“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), the regional body of WHO. “This certification reflects years of sustained effort, especially reaching remote areas. It means future generations can grow up free from this potentially deadly disease.”  

By 2006, malaria cases had significantly dropped among indigenous communities; thus, the malaria program revised its strategy to focus on high-risk mobile populations. The Malaria Service Deliverers network, made up of trained community health volunteers, enabled the country to reach underserved gold mining areas and track and treat every malaria case.  

Over the years, Suriname has collaborated closely with neighbors Brazil, French Guiana, and Guyana and received crucial support from international partners such as the U.S. government, PAHO, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The country reported its last Plasmodium falciparum malaria case in 2018 and its last P. vivax case in 2021.  

Suriname’s success demonstrates that with strong political will, sustained investment, cross-border collaboration, and community engagement, eliminating malaria is achievable even in challenging settings such as the Amazon forest. 

To read the full announcement, visit PAHO.org.

Click here to watch Suriname’s journey to malaria elimination. 

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