The fight against malaria is one of humanity’s most significant public health achievements. Great progress was made in malaria control over the last two decades, averting an estimated 2.2 billion cases of malaria and 12.7 million deaths.
But progress has stalled. Malaria remains a deadly global health challenge, with the heaviest burden falling on children and pregnant women.
Conflict, humanitarian crises, extreme weather events, increasing drug and insecticide resistance, and funding shortfalls are jeopardizing the significant gains that the Global Fund partnership has made against malaria over the last 20 years.
We cannot afford to stop now. If we take our foot off the gas, progress will reverse, and fast. More than ever before, we must support countries in their efforts to revitalize and sustain the fight against malaria.
Now is not the time to pause. It’s the time to give it everything – to reinvest, reimagine and reignite the fight to end malaria and secure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all.
#WorldMalariaDay #HealthierFuture #EndMalaria
Table of Contents
State of the Fight Against Malaria
Key Messages
Featured Stories
- The Philippines: Supporting Country- and Community-led Efforts to End Malaria (English and Français)
- Zambia: Modester Chyota: Going the Distance to Fight Malaria (English and Français)
Multimedia Resources
Social Media Messages
Data Explorer
Additional Resources:
“Investing more in the fight to end malaria not only has the potential to save millions of lives, but it can also help rebalance global economic power and stimulate trade.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
State of the Fight: Malaria
Prevention
- 227 million mosquito nets distributed to protect families from malaria in 2023.
- 44.6 million children covered by seasonal malaria chemoprevention in 2023.
- 15.5 million pregnant women received preventive therapy for malaria in 2023.
Testing and Treatment
- 335 million suspected cases of malaria tested in 2023.
- 171 million cases of malaria treated in 2023.
Funding
- The Global Fund provides 59% of all international financing for malaria programs.
- We have invested US$20 billion in malaria control programs as of March 2025.
- Malaria-endemic countries could see incremental GDP grow by US$142.7 billion over the 2023-2030 period if incidence is reduced by 90% by 2030. This could lift millions of people out of poverty.
“In places with high malaria rates, people can’t work. Kids’ schooling gets interrupted. People live under a constant fear of death.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
Key Messages
Global progress to end malaria has stalled over the past decade.
Conflict, humanitarian crises, extreme weather events, resistance to insecticides and funding shortfalls are driving the disease’s resurgence and jeopardizing the gains made by the Global Fund partnership – putting millions of lives at risk, especially those who are most vulnerable to the disease.
Malaria remains a deadly global health challenge. The burden is particularly devastating for pregnant women and young children in Africa, where 95% of malaria deaths occur. Each year, around 600,000 people die from the disease – nearly 75% of them are children under 5.
We cannot afford to stop now. When we take our foot off the gas, progress will not just stall – it will reverse, and fast.
Sustained funding is critical to keep prevention and treatment efforts on track. Seasonal chemoprevention campaigns are timed with the rainy season – missing just one cycle means children go unprotected. If mosquito nets and preventive medicines for pregnant women are unavailable, lives will be lost. When the supply of test kits and first-line treatments is disrupted, malaria cases and deaths will spiral.
Investing in the fight against malaria not only saves lives – it also boosts productivity, creates economic opportunities, and strengthens global health security – making the world safer for everyone.
Now is not the time to pause the fight. It’s the time to give it everything, or risk a surge in malaria cases, growing resistance, and the spread of the disease across borders, including into regions that have already eliminated it. Left unchecked, malaria will become much harder and more expensive to control – putting millions of lives and decades of progress at risk.
A fully funded Global Fund is our best defense. Continued investment will save lives, strengthen health systems, and create lasting economic opportunity. The world must act decisively to end malaria as a public health threat – and build a healthier, safer, more prosperous future for all.
“Defeating malaria is one of the most powerful things the global community can do to improve the lives of the poorest communities in the world.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
The Philippines: Supporting Country- and Community-led Efforts to End Malaria
The end of malaria is in sight in the Philippines. In 2002, the country recorded 38,347 cases of malaria and 122 deaths. Today, 72 of the Philippines’ 82 provinces are malaria-free, with nine declaring zero indigenous cases and only one province with active transmission.
The Global Fund works with the government, civil society organizations and private sector partners, including the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc., to fight malaria in Palawan – the last province where the disease is still a threat. Efforts focus on early testing and treatment, mosquito net distribution and robust community mobilization campaigns.
Extreme weather events are threatening progress – destroying homes and health infrastructure, displacing communities, and creating conditions where disease-carrying mosquitoes thrive.
With Global Fund support, the Philippine government is investing in health systems that can withstand and counter the impacts of extreme weather – incorporating malaria prevention and testing into community-based primary health care services and building surveillance networks that feed community data into national health information systems, so that officials can address malaria outbreaks as soon as they crop up.
With sustained, coordinated action on climate change, the Philippines will stand as a model for the fight against malaria – and end the disease within its borders, once and for all.
X: Over 20 years of partnership, the Philippines cut malaria cases from 38,000 in 2002 to just over 6,000 in 2023 – 72 of 82 provinces are now malaria-free. But extreme weather events threaten progress. @GlobalFund & partners are working to protect these gains. https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/stories/2024/2024-09-19-philippines-supporting-country-community-led-efforts-end-malaria/
Zambia: Modester Chyota: Going the Distance to Fight Malaria
When malaria strikes, Modester goes the extra mile – literally.
As a community health worker in Zambia’s remote Rufunsa district, she walks hours to provide families with essential health care and teaches them about malaria transmission and prevention.
“If someone is positive, I visit them again the next day just to see how they’re doing. I am very passionate about helping the community”.
Modester lives with 4 of her 7 children and 10 grandchildren. Despite facing challenges like limited transport, lack of water and electricity and most recently disruptions in the supply of rapid tests and medications, Modester is a lifeline in the fight against malaria and other deadly diseases.
X: When malaria strikes, Modester goes the extra mile – literally. In Zambia’s remote Rufunsa district, she walks hours to test, treat and follow up with families. Despite the challenges, she remains a lifeline in the fight against malaria. #WorldMalariaDay https://globalfund.exposure.co/these-women-are-keeping-us-all-safe-from-infectious-disease#section-669431
“Malaria investment is not just a health imperative – it is a strategic driver of broader, far-reaching economic and social benefits.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
Multimedia Resources
Social Media Messages
Today is #WorldMalariaDay. Over the last two decades, cost-effective, proven tools have averted billions of malaria cases and millions of deaths. But progress has stalled, and gains are at risk. Now is the time to reinvest, reimagine and reignite the fight to #EndMalaria.
Malaria remains a deadly global health challenge. It kills around 600,000 people every year – nearly 75% of them are children under 5. Pregnant women are also at high risk. We cannot afford to stop now. #WorldMalariaDay #HealthierFuture
Global progress to end malaria has stalled. Conflict, extreme weather, insecticide resistance & funding shortfalls are driving the disease’s resurgence – putting millions of lives at risk. Now is the time to give it everything to protect lives & build a #HealthierFuture for all.
Investing in the fight against malaria not only saves lives – it also boosts productivity and strengthens global health systems. A fully funded @GlobalFund is our best defense. Together, we can build a healthier, safer, more equitable world for all. #WorldMalariaDay #EndMalaria
Sustained funding is critical to keep malaria prevention and treatment on track. When access to lifesaving tools is delayed or disrupted, lives are lost and progress unravels. It’s the time to give it everything – or risk reversing decades of progress. #WorldMalariaDay #EndMalaria
Data Explorer
Explore data on investments and results in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world.
The Global Fund invests in smart, effective health programs to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. The Data Explorer visualizes where our investments come from, where they are and what they achieve by providing pledge and contribution data, grant financial data, and results data at global, regional and country levels.