Amazing historical factoid about Spain

[Edith]

'Malaria was declared officially eradicated in 1964, which was just in time for mass tourism, which certainly would not have taken off had it not been for the parasite's prior eradication. It also coincided nicely with the UN no longer classifying Spain as a Third World country. As all development workers know, malaria is eradicated by means of progress, not by a change in the temperature or necessarily draining all wetlands.
Malaria could indeed return to Europe , but the real trigger would be a massive economic meltdown rather than any rise in temperature, which would only make matters worse.'

http://www.iberianature.com/material/photos/malariastamp.jpg

'Spanish first-day cover in support of the UN's world anti-malarial campaign of 1962, just before the disease was delared eradicated from the country.'

More:

http://www.iberianature.com/material/malaria.html

[Marbella]

I wonder why it was then (1964?) that the decision was made not to class Spain as a third-world country. What changed? Was it just malaria?

I suppose it depends on the reason for classifying it as third-world in the first place: Franco not being a friend of the west or Spain not being advanced industrially/economically. Maybe both.

[Edith]

I wonder why it was then (1964?) that the decision was made not to class Spain as a third-world country. What changed? Was it just malaria?

I suppose it depends on the reason for classifying it as third-world in the first place: Franco not being a friend of the west or Spain not being advanced industrially/economically. Maybe both.

Most parts of Nazi-occupied Europe probably would have qualified as 'Third World' right after 1945, just before receiving Marshall Aid from the Americans. :o Thanks Uncle Sam! :-)

Ëven though Holland was more advanced economically, it had to wait a little longer than Spain until it was declared malaria-free by the international community:

Malaria in The Netherlandshttp://www.kit.nl/specials/assets/images/triangle_top_white.gif (http://www.kit.nl/specials/html/ma_special_features.asp?/specials/html/ma_special_features.asp&frnr=1&#top)
Until recently, malaria was endemic in the Netherlands. This was not the type of malaria found in tropical regions, but a type that can occur in temperate zones, namely Plasmodium vivax, which causes malaria tertiana. The malaria parasite is carried by a mosquito called Anopheles atroparvus. The last epidemic of endemic malaria in the Netherlands was in 1946 in the province of Noord-Holland. After this, only a limited number of cases were reported up until 1958. On 17 December 1972, the Netherlands was officially declared malaria-free by the WHO

Even Florida still struggles with malaria and dengue fever, so there is more to these diseases than underdevelopment alone. In my opinion, Spain has made a quantum leap as far as development is concerned.