WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) — The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has joined a collaborative effort led by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that seeks to eliminate indigenous cases of malaria on the island of Hispaniola — which comprises Haiti and the Dominican Republic — by 2020.

The Haiti Malaria Elimination Consortium, announced by the CDC Foundation on Wednesday, will accelerate malaria elimination efforts beginning with a US $29.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

PAHO said Hispaniola is the only remaining island in the Caribbean where malaria is endemic.

In Haiti, where the majority of Hispaniola’s malaria cases occur, there were more than 20,000 confirmed cases in 2013, PAHO said.

“We laud this expression of solidarity with efforts to eliminate malaria from the only two countries in the Caribbean where transmission still exists,” said Keith Carter, PAHO senior advisor on malaria and other communicable diseases.

“We are heartened that the project can also catalyse elimination of lymphatic filariasis, another vector-borne disease, from the island,” he added.