Central America
El Salvador remains the only malaria-free country in Central America
June 5 |
The eradication of malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, gave El Salvador the recognition and certification by the World Health Organization as a “Malaria-free country”, becoming the only Central American nation to obtain this title.
The work developed by the Government through the Ministry of Health (Minsal) has generated the conditions for the country to remain free of cases of the disease and to prevent its reappearance.
“El Salvador is the first country in Central America with the Malaria Free Certification. With satisfaction, we can say that all this effort has allowed us to save lives”, highlighted the Minsal as one of the health achievements of the four years of President Nayib Bukele’s government.
Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caused by parasites transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Symptoms of the disease can include fever, vomiting and/or headache.
“El Salvador is the third country to achieve malaria-free certification in the Region of the Americas in recent years, after Argentina in 2019 and Paraguay in 2018. Seven countries in the Region obtained the certification between the years 1962 and 1973. Globally, a total of 38 countries and territories have achieved this goal. Eighteen countries, including one territory, in the Region of the Americas are currently at risk of malaria. Paraguay, Argentina and El Salvador were certified malaria-free by WHO in 2018, 2019 and 2021, respectively,” says the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as key data against the disease.
Similarly, the Minsal continues with different antivectorial actions to prevent other arboviruses such as dengue, zika and chikungunya through the intervention of homes with fumigation and abatization.
The search for and elimination of breeding sites, and health promotion are part of the actions that have allowed dengue to remain in the success zone of the endemic corridor, according to the epidemiological bulletin of the Minsal.
“We continue to carry out spraying campaigns, for the elimination of the mosquito that transmits dengue, zika and chikungunya. Let’s take care of ourselves, let’s avoid dengue!”, stated the Health portfolio.
Central America
El Salvador to host World Cup qualifiers vs. Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán
El Salvador’s national football team will host its final round World Cup qualifying matches against Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán, the honorary president of the National Sports Institute (INDES), Yamil Bukele, announced Thursday via a statement on his X account.
The official explained that this decision comes after the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, originally scheduled to perform at Estadio Cuscatlán on Saturday, October 4, will now hold their concert at Estadio Jorge “El Mágico” González. This change allows both of La Selecta’s qualifying matches to be played at the “Coloso de Monserrat.”
“After a series of efforts and in response to popular demand, we are pleased to announce that our senior national team’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches next October (Oct. 10 vs. Panama and Oct. 14 vs. Guatemala) will take place at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement reads.
Bukele also thanked the event promoters and the band for agreeing to the stadium change. “We sincerely thank Guns N’ Roses and StarTicket for agreeing to move the concert originally scheduled for October 4 at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement adds.
Additionally, Bukele expressed gratitude to the FESFUT Regularization Commission for their efforts with CONCACAF to make this possible, and he urged fans to stay tuned to official channels to purchase tickets and support La Selecta in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Central America
Honduran president Xiomara Castro suspends activities due to influenza
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on Thursday that she has “temporarily” suspended her public activities due to a severe influenza virus.
“A strong influenza virus requires me to rest, trusting that I will be fully recovered for the grand celebration of our National Independence Day” next Monday, Castro stated on the social media platform X.
The president had planned to participate in several inaugurations across the northern, central, and eastern regions of the country throughout the week. She added that “these events will be rescheduled for new dates.”
Central America
Nicaragua’s government expels bishops, priests, and nuns in religious persecution
At least 261 religious figures, including the president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, Carlos Enrique Herrera, have been expelled as part of the persecution by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s regime against the Catholic Church, reported the NGO Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más in its report Faith Under Fire.
The report details that among those expelled are bishops Silvio Báez, Rolando Álvarez, Isidoro Mora, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio in Managua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, along with approximately 140 priests, over 90 nuns, ten seminarians, and three deacons from different dioceses in the country.
“Since the expulsion of Nuncio Sommertag in March 2022, relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican have significantly deteriorated,” the NGO noted.
The report also documents the closure of 5,609 non-profit organizations, of which 1,294 were religious, including churches, universities, schools, clinics, and humanitarian organizations. Most of these had their assets confiscated by the Sandinista government. Additionally, the telecommunications regulator TELCOR shut down 54 media outlets, including 22 religious radio stations and TV channels.
Repression has extended to other religious denominations, with forced disappearances and criminalization of evangelical pastors, control over temples, media censorship, fiscal pressure, property confiscation, and the cancellation of legal status for the Moravian Church. Pastor Rudy Palacios remains in detention as part of this pattern of persecution.
The NGO emphasized that churches, especially the Catholic Church, played a key role in the 2018 national dialogue, denouncing abuses and providing refuge to injured protesters, which fueled the government’s hostility.
In 2023, Pope Francis described Ortega’s regime as a “blatant dictatorship”, to which the Nicaraguan president responded by dissolving the Society of Jesus and labeling the Church as a “mafia” and “anti-democratic.”
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