Kyrgyzstan may be declared malaria-free country in fall 2016

"Kyrgyzstan is moving forward to be certified as malaria-free country. If everything is fine, this can happen this fall," the representative of the World Health Organization Regional Office Jarno Habicht said today at the session of the Coordination Council for Cooperation with Development Partners.

He noted the commitment in the health care issues. "You are very advanced in this area compared with neighboring countries. There was established a strong coordination. Leaders of the country prioritize the health care sector, and this is very important. You maintain the primary medical-sanitary level. People get these services. It is important that a person can be treated at the primary level. You have such priorities as maternal and child health, cardiovascular diseases, you have achievements in the fight against tuberculosis. You have worked very hard on reducing infant mortality and reached that Millennium Development Goal. Also you have special warning labels about the danger of smoking on cigarette packs. If you are able to prevent smoking among adolescents, there will be a healthy generation," Jarno Habicht said.