Over 40 years ago, China was rife with malaria, reporting over 24 million cases in the 1970’s. Since the introduction of the National Malaria Elimination Programme in 2010, China has drastically reduced the prevalence of malaria infection, and is successfully moving towards achieving the government’s goal of malaria elimination by 2020.

The ‘malaria-free’ certified status is the official recognition granted to a country by the World Health Organisation, and is achieved by reporting zero indigenous cases for three consecutive years, and maintaining that status thereafter. 

The WHO China office has been working closely with national authorities in China since 2017 to ensure successful certification. Certification requires sub-national malaria elimination verification. So far, China has validated 7 out of 24 historically malaria-endemic provinces, including Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian and Shanxi.  The government plans to validate the remaining 17 provinces in the coming 2 years.