Malaria ends with us
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners are promoting ‘Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite’, a campaign that aims to re-energize efforts at all levels, from global policy to community action, to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination.
Malaria remains a significant public health challenge globally. In 2023, there were an estimated 263 million new malaria cases in 83 countries, up from 252 million in 2022 and 226 million in 2015.
Malaria control efforts pay off. Since 2000 they have helped prevent an estimated 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths globally. In 2023 alone, more than 177 million cases and one million deaths were averted, the vast majority of them – 80 per cent of cases and 94 per cent of deaths – in Africa.
The malaria burden in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region has surged in recent years, with an estimated 10.2 million cases reported in 2023, a 137 per cent increase compared to 2015.
The alarming rise has been driven by catastrophic floods in Pakistan, which led to 3.7 million additional cases between 2021 and 2023. Ongoing conflict and instability in countries such as Sudan and Yemen continue to disrupt malaria control efforts. Sudan has the highest malaria incidence rates in the region. In 2023, more than 3.4 million cases were estimated, together with 7900 deaths, though the figures could be higher due to underreporting as a result of the ongoing conflict and communication breakdown in Sudan.
Faced with growing challenges, including emerging resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides and the impact of climate change on mosquito habitats and transmission patterns, innovative strategies are urgently needed to ensure progress towards malaria elimination.
While the region is significantly off track in meeting the 2025 and 2030 global targets for malaria case reduction and mortality, some countries in the region have made progress.
In October 2024, Egypt became the third country in the region to be certified by WHO as malaria-free, following the United Arab Emirates (2007) and Morocco (2010). Globally, 44 countries and 1 territory have reached this milestone.
In November 2024, Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health, in partnership with WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, rolled out malaria vaccines for the first time in the country. The malaria vaccine aims to protect children aged 5–12 months in high-burden states, including 15 localities in Gedaref and Blue Nile. In the first phase, 148 000 children are being targeted, with plans to expand coverage to 1.3 million children in 134 localities by the end of 2026.
In May 2024, Djibouti adopted an innovative approach to the fight against malaria with the pilot release of genetically modified Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes.
Regional efforts to support malaria elimination across the region include reinforcing regional coordination, data sharing and innovation in support of elimination goals, and a joint project with the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) assessing risk for malaria re-introduction in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Through the Horn of Africa Network for Monitoring Antimalarial Treatment (HANMAT), member states are tackling biological threats such as antimalarial drug and insecticide resistance, parasite mutation that leads to the disease escaping detection by commonly used rapid diagnostic tests, and the spread of an invasive malaria vector in Africa. In parallel, the GLIDE MENA regional project is assessing the receptive risk for malaria re-introduction.
“Malaria is preventable and treatable. Ending malaria is not just a health imperative, it is an investment in a healthier, more equitable, safer and more prosperous future for every nation,” says WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy. “Proven interventions are available. By working together, we can ensure that no one is left behind.”
To accelerate progress towards malaria elimination, WHO and partners are advocating for governments, donors and the private sector to increase funding for malaria elimination and control programmes; support the full replenishment of the Global Fund and Gavi; boost domestic financing in endemic countries; invest in proven interventions such as insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying, chemoprevention and vaccines; and build strong health systems, especially for the populations most at risk.
WHO is also urging all stakeholders to join the Big Push to End Malaria, a country-driven, multi-stakeholder effort to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to reignite progress towards malaria eradication through six priority actions:
Improve coordination between global, regional and country partners.
Uphold national leadership and accountability while advancing an inclusive, whole-of-society approach.
Strengthen data systems and enable data-driven decision-making.
Increase the accessibility, acceptability and quality of existing interventions.
Develop and prepare for the rapid introduction of new, transformational tools.
Increase funding for malaria, building a new narrative.
Success in malaria control will create a healthier, more equitable and safer future for all. A malaria-free world is achievable. Let us ensure that no one is left behind.
Source: WHO
