Experts Wednesday predicted Swaziland to potentially be the second country in the Southern African Development Community to eliminate malaria, according to the Inter Press Service.
The SADC Malaria Strategic Plan lists Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia as countries in the area where elimination is nearly complete. Swaziland is expected to be the first of the four, according to IPS.
The World Health Organization will declare the country a malaria-free zone, should it reach its elimination goal for three consecutive years.
The Millennium Development Goals seek to completely end malaria by 2015.
Malaria killed 5 million people in Swaziland last year, according to IPS.
-M.M.
