This picture taken on July 5, 2012 shows a man sleeping under a mosquito net at a village in Pailin province, some 350 kilometres northwest of Phnom Penh. The kingdom has reported zero deaths from the disease since 2018. - AFP
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia is making great progress towards achieving its malaria-free target by the end of 2025, Prime Minister Hun Manet said.
In a message to mark the National Malaria Day on Friday (April 25), he said the South-East Asian country reported only 355 malaria cases in 2024, a significant drop of 75 per cent compared to 2023.
The prime minister added that the kingdom had reported zero deaths from the disease since 2018 and no local Plasmodium Falciparum cases since 2024.
"Cambodia is on the verge of achieving a malaria-free goal by the end of 2025," Hun Manet said, urging all stakeholders to continue to support the country to achieve the target.
Huy Rekol, director of the National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, said malaria diagnostic tests and treatments have been highly effective in Cambodia, with Artesunate/Mefloquine, or ASMQ, being 100 per cent safe and efficacious against malaria.
"This progress has put Cambodia in the category of successful countries in eliminating malaria," he told Xinhua.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that is typically found in forest and mountainous provinces, especially during rainy seasons.
To avoid being bitten by malaria-carrying mosquitoes, Rekol advises people living in malaria-risk areas to sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets at all times. - Xinhua
