Egypt has been declared ‘malaria-free’ by the World Health Organization (WHO), in what it has called a “truly historic” milestone after nearly a century of work to eradicate the disease.

In the 1940s, malaria cases in Egypt surged to over three million due to population displacement during World War II.

Egypt has been fighting malaria for nearly 100 years. WHO declares a country malaria-free when the disease has not been present for at least three consecutive years before the designation.

Egypt is the 44th country to be certified, but the fight against malaria goes on, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

"Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history." WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Egyptian authorities initiated malaria control measures nearly a century ago.