Chad became the 51st country in the world to eliminate sleeping sickness, the World Health Organization announced.
"Congratulations to the government, health workers, and people of Chad for eliminating human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness. It is great to see Chad join the growing group of countries that have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease. The 100-country target is nearer and within reach," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
To date, the elimination of this disease, known as the gambiense form of human African trypanosomiasis, has been validated by the WHO in seven countries of the continent:
Togo (2020);
Benin (2021);
Côte d'Ivoire (2021);
Uganda (2022);
Equatorial Guinea (2022);
Ghana (2023);
Chad (2024).