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.

Malaria has been traced as far back as 4,000 BCE in Egypt, with genetic evidence of the disease found in Tutankhamun and other mummies.

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.

"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.