WHO Announces Guinea's Success in Eradicating Sleeping Sickness as Public Health Issue.
International
In January 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Guinea has successfully eradicated the gambiense form of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, as a public health issue.
- HAT has become the first Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) to be eradicated in Guinea.This achievement was announced just ahead of the global observance of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (WNTDD) on January 30, 2025.
- HAT cases in Guinea have fallen below the WHO threshold of one case per 10,000 inhabitants in all endemic areas, marking the disease’s successful elimination as a public health concern.
- Guinea is a country in West Africa, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It's known for the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, in the southeast.
Main Point :- (i) Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a vector-borne parasitic disease endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, caused by protozoan parasites of the Trypanosoma genus and transmitted by infected tsetse flies.
(ii) It exists in two forms: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (responsible for over 92% of cases) and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (responsible for the remaining cases). The disease can cause fever, headaches, joint pain, neurological symptoms, and, if untreated, can be fatal.
(iii) HAT is classified as a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD), with WHO playing a key role in assisting countries to eliminate the disease. This effort stems from the adoption of WHO resolutions 50.36 in 1997 and 56.7 in 2003, focusing on eradicating HAT in endemic countries.
About Guinea
Interim President : Mamadi Doumbouya
Capital : Conakry
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