In the 1960s, malaria was retreating – until the world hit pause. Global eradication efforts were abandoned in 1969, and millions of lives were lost. It took 30 years for the world to fight back against the deadly disease.
On World Malaria Day 2025, which fell on April 25, the world came together on the theme “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite”, a grassroots campaign that aims to re-energize efforts at all levels, from global policy to community action, to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination.
The global community recommitted to malaria in the late 1990s and, as a result, an estimated 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths have been prevented over more than two decades. But after years of steady declines, progress has stalled. Today, malaria claims an estimated one life every minute, with most deaths occurring in the African Region. Sri Lanka was certified malaria-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO) nine years ago, along with neighbouring Maldives. However, Sri Lanka still has “imported” cases – local and foreign travellers who have been already infected in another country.
But further progress and decades of hard-won gains are in jeopardy. Extreme weather events, conflict, humanitarian emergencies, and economic stresses are disrupting malaria control efforts in many endemic countries, leaving tens of millions of people with limited access to the services they need to prevent, detect and treat the disease. Without prompt treatment, malaria can rapidly escalate to severe illness and death.
Facts
As the WHO points out “it is time to recommit to ending malaria. We have the knowledge, life-saving tools and targeted prevention, testing and treatment methods to defeat this disease. We must reinvest in proven interventions, reimagine our strategies to overcome current obstacles, and reignite our collective efforts together with countries and communities to accelerate progress towards ending malaria.”
Here are some sobering facts about Malaria.
Globally in 2023 (the last year for which full statistics are available), there were an estimated 263 million malaria cases and 597 000 malaria deaths in 83 countries.
The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.
In 2023, the WHO African Region was home to 94% of malaria cases (246 million) and 95% (569 000) of malaria deaths. Children under 5 accounted for about 76% of all malaria deaths in the Region.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries. It is preventable and curable.
The infection is caused by a parasite and does not spread from person to person.
Symptoms can be mild or life-threatening. Mild symptoms are fever, chills and headache. Severe symptoms include fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty breathing.
Infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women and girls, travellers and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk of severe infection.
Malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites and with medicines. Treatment can stop mild cases from getting worse.
Malaria mostly spreads to people through the bites of some infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Blood transfusion and contaminated needles may also transmit malaria. The first symptoms may be mild, similar to many febrile illnesses, and difficulty to recognize as malaria. Left untreated, P. falciparum malaria can progress to severe illness and death within just 24 hours.
There are 5 Plasmodium parasite species that cause malaria in humans and two of these species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – pose the greatest threat. P. falciparum is the deadliest malaria parasite and the most prevalent on the African continent. P. vivax is the dominant malaria parasite in most countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa. The other malaria species which can infect humans are P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi.
Symptoms
The most common early symptoms of malaria are fever, headache and chills. Symptoms usually start within 10–15 days of getting bitten by an infected mosquito.
Symptoms may be mild for some people, especially for those who have had a malaria infection before. Because some malaria symptoms are not specific, getting tested early is important.
Severe symptoms include: extreme tiredness and fatigue; impaired consciousness; multiple convulsions; difficulty breathing; dark or bloody urine; jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin) and abnormal bleeding.
People with severe symptoms should get emergency care right away. Getting treatment early for mild malaria can stop the infection from becoming severe.
Malaria infection during pregnancy can also cause premature delivery or delivery of a baby with low birth weight, although the baby will not get malaria.
Prevention
Malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites and by taking medicines. Talk to a doctor about taking medicines such as chemoprophylaxis before travelling to areas where malaria is common.
Lower the risk of getting Malaria by avoiding mosquito bites: Use mosquito nets when sleeping in places where Malaria (or for that matter, any other mosquito borne disease) is present; Use mosquito repellents (containing DEET, IR3535 or Icaridin) after dusk; Use coils and vaporisers (ask a doctor if you have asthma or any respiratory complication); Wear protective clothing (long sleeves); Use window screens and close windows and doors early in the evening.
Since October 2021, the WHO has recommended broad use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine among children living in regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. The vaccine has been shown to significantly reduce malaria, and deadly severe Malaria, among young children. In October 2023, the WHO recommended a second safe and effective malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M. Vaccines are now being rolled out in routine childhood immunisation programs across Africa. Malaria vaccines in Africa are expected to save tens of thousands of young lives every year. The highest impact will be achieved, however, when the vaccines are introduced alongside a mix of other WHO-recommended malaria interventions such as bed nets and chemoprophylaxis.
These are the most common medicines for malaria: Artemisinin-based combination therapy medicines are the most effective treatment for P. falciparum malaria; Chloroquine is recommended for treatment of infection with the P. vivax parasite only in places where it is still sensitive to this medicine; Primaquine should be added to the main treatment to prevent relapses of infection with the P. vivax and P. ovale parasites. Most medicines used are in pill form. Some people may need to go to a health centre or hospital for injectable medicines.
In 2023, 35 countries reported fewer than 1,000 indigenous cases of the disease, up from just 13 countries in 2000. Countries that have achieved at least 3 consecutive years of zero indigenous cases of malaria are eligible to apply for the WHO certification of malaria elimination. Since 2015, 14 countries have been certified by the WHO Director-General as malaria-free, including Maldives (2015), Sri Lanka (2016), Kyrgyzstan (2016), Paraguay (2018), Uzbekistan (2018), Argentina (2019), Algeria (2019), China (2021), El Salvador (2021), Azerbaijan (2023), Tajikistan (2023), Belize (2023), Cabo Verde (2024) and Egypt (2024). (WHO/UN News)
