The fight against malaria is one of humanity’s most significant public health successes. Great progress was made in malaria control over the last two decades, resulting in a reduction in overall cases and deaths.
But after years of steady declines, malaria cases and deaths are on the rise. Today, a child dies of malaria every minute.
Conflict, climate change and increasing resistance to insecticides are jeopardizing the significant gains that the Global Fund partnership has fought to achieve over the last two decades.
With the knowledge of these obstacles comes the power to defeat them. Fighting back with a combination of new tools and targeted prevention, testing and treatment methods is the way to accelerate progress to end malaria for good.
More than ever before, we must support countries in their efforts to revitalize and sustain the fight against malaria.
#WorldMalariaDay
Table of Contents
State of the Fight Against Malaria
Key Messages
Featured Stories
- Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria (English and Français)
- Mozambique: Júlia Carries a Mobile App in Her Pocket to Protect Her Community from Deadly Disease (English and Français)
- Burkina Faso: A Mobile App Replaces Pen and Paper Records to Help Transform Community Health (English and Français)
- Pakistan: For Fazila and Millions of Others, Climate Change Brings Extreme Floods and Malaria (English and Français)
Multimedia Resources
Social Media Messages
Data Explorer
Additional Resources:
“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
State of the Fight: Malaria
Prevention
- 220 million mosquito nets distributed to protect families from malaria in 2022.
- 8.5 million structures covered by indoor residual spraying in 2022.
- 37.1 million children covered by seasonal malaria chemoprevention in 2022.
- 14.6 million pregnant women received preventive therapy for malaria in 2022.
Testing and Treatment
- 321 million suspected cases of malaria tested in 2022.
- 166 million cases of malaria treated in 2022.
Funding
- The Global Fund provides 65% of all international financing for malaria programs.
- We have invested more than US$17.9 billion in malaria control programs as of June 2023.
- Since January 2021, we have increased malaria grants by 23% on average.
“Malaria is a preventable, curable disease we know we can beat, because many countries have already done so. We should use the threat of climate change as the spur to redouble our efforts to rid the world of this terrible disease, one of humanity’s oldest enemies.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
Key Messages
Global progress to end malaria is under threat.
Conflict, climate change and increasing resistance to insecticides are jeopardizing the two decades of gains the Global Fund partnership has achieved to keep people safe from infection and death – especially those who are most vulnerable to the disease.
Nearly half the world’s population is at risk for malaria. The disease is particularly devastating for pregnant women and young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 608,000 people who died of malaria in 2022, 95% lived in sub-Saharan Africa – and most of them were children under 5.
With the knowledge of these obstacles comes the power to defeat them. Fighting back with a combination of new tools and targeted prevention, testing and treatment methods – that reach the people who need protection most – is the way to accelerate progress to end malaria for good.
Equitable access to proven and effective tools – including insecticide-treated mosquito nets, seasonal malaria chemoprevention for children under 5, preventive treatment during pregnancy, indoor residual spraying and robust testing and treatment protocols – is essential to keep people safe from malaria.
Innovations have the power to transform the fight against this disease. New mosquito nets, which use two mosquito-fighting insecticides instead of one, have been proven to be dramatically more effective than other nets at protecting people from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Malaria vaccines for children – when thoughtfully deployed together with this suite of existing tools and as part of comprehensive national malaria control plans – can also contribute to getting back on track to defeat malaria.
The Global Fund invests in strengthening health systems to defeat malaria. This includes supporting the community health workers who bring lifesaving malaria prevention and care services to the people who need them most. These investments benefit the system more widely; for example, community health workers are being trained to diagnose and treat diseases beyond malaria, and to incorporate malaria prevention measures alongside other health care services.
Today, a child dies from malaria every minute. By harnessing the power of the existing tools to fight malaria and ensuring equitable access to game-changing innovations, we can prevent infections and deaths and get closer to ending malaria by 2030.
“Hard-won experience shows that addressing malaria, particularly in disaster- and conflict-struck regions, requires strong health and community systems equipped with digital technologies and trained workers.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria
Like all parents, Melissa and Tomnjong’s top priority is their children’s health. They are acutely aware of the dangers their children face.
Early in her pregnancy with her son Tony-Jason, Melissa was diagnosed with malaria. A few days later, their 3-year-old daughter Gabriella fell ill with the disease too. While Melissa recovered quickly, Gabriella spent four days in the hospital before getting better.
Malaria remains a daunting global health challenge that is particularly devastating for pregnant women and young children in sub-Saharan Africa. The entire population of Cameroon – 27 million people – are at risk for malaria.
Cameroon’s government, with support from the Global Fund, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative and others, is simultaneously rolling out the newest mosquito nets, preventive treatment for young children and pregnant women, the new malaria vaccine as well as community-based testing and treatment services.
These interventions target people most at risk, and together, they create multiple layers of protection against the disease.
X: Malaria remains a daunting global health challenge, particularly devastating for pregnant women & young children. In Cameroon, 27 million people are at risk for malaria. Parents Melissa & Tomnjong experienced the fear & danger of malaria firsthand. https://globalfund.exposure.co/cameroon-one-countrys-fight-to-keep-mothers-and-children-safe-from-malaria
Mozambique: Júlia Carries a Mobile App in Her Pocket to Protect Her Community from Deadly Disease
In the wake of Cyclone Freddy, stagnant floodwater became a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes and malaria rates surged across Mozambique.
Community health workers like Júlia relied on digital health tools to guide their response. The smartphone app upSCALE helped Júlia and her colleagues monitor infections, log symptoms, identify who needed a test and where, and keep track of medicines and chlorine tablets distributed to each home.
More than 3,600 community health workers use upSCALE in 7 out of 11 provinces in Mozambique. The Global Fund is working with partners to launch the app nationwide by the end of 2026.
X: Community health workers like Júlia rely on digital health tools to help them respond to crises. When Cyclone Freddy hit Mozambique and malaria cases surged, the smartphone app upSCALE helped Júlia monitor and track infections, symptoms and testing. https://globalfund.exposure.co/upscale-a-new-digital-tool-for-community-health-workers-on-the-front-lines-in-mozambique
Burkina Faso: A Mobile App Replaces Pen and Paper Records to Help Transform Community Health
For Marc, a community health worker in Burkina Faso, his medical kit would be incomplete without one essential tool – his phone.
Despite tremendous gains in improving the health of pregnant women and young children over the last two decades, Burkina Faso is still among the top 10 countries with the highest number of malaria cases and deaths.
Marc and his fellow community health workers – or agents de santé à base communautaire – are using digital tools like the Mhealth Burkina app to view patient medical records, access the latest guidance on diagnosis and treatment, track referrals, and avoid leaving out important information.
The Global Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation are working together to support Marc and his colleagues with technology and innovation to fight disease and transform community health.
X: For Marc, a community health worker fighting malaria in Burkina Faso, his medical kit would be incomplete without his mobile phone. With his phone & new digital apps, he can access patient records, get the latest treatment guidance & track follow-ups. https://globalfund.exposure.co/in-burkina-faso-a-mobile-app-replaces-pen-and-paper-records-to-help-transform-community-health
Pakistan: For Fazila and Millions of Others in Pakistan, Climate Change Brings Extreme Floods and Malaria
After losing all her possessions and her home in Pakistan’s devastating floods, Fazila, a 25-year-old midwife, is navigating through her own crisis while also protecting her community from malaria.
Fazila is working with mobile health units set up by the Indus Hospital and Health Network with support from the Global Fund. The mobile units reach communities most severely affected by the flooding with vital health services.
One of Fazila’s roles on the mobile health unit is testing and treating people for malaria, as cases started to rapidly increase with the rising flood waters, a preferred breeding ground for mosquitoes that transmit the disease.
X: Following devastating floods in Pakistan, malaria cases are on the rise. Fazila, a midwife, is on the frontlines of the crisis, working in mobile health units to reach remote communities with testing and treatment for malaria. #WorldMalariaDay https://globalfund.exposure.co/for-fazila-and-millions-of-others-in-pakistan-climate-change-brings-extreme-floods-and-malaria
“If we act now, we can end malaria as a public health threat and ensure that no person, community, or country is left behind.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
Multimedia Resources
Social Media Messages
X: Today is #WorldMalariaDay. More than ever before, we must support countries to revitalize and sustain the fight against malaria – to provide better and more equitable access to all health services, increase funding and invest in new approaches and innovations to #EndMalaria.
X: Today is #WorldMalariaDay. While the world has made incredible progress in the fight to defeat malaria, a child still dies of malaria every minute. Unacceptable. We must accelerate the fight to #EndMalaria.
X: Malaria deaths and cases are on the rise. Conflict, climate change and increasing resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides are jeopardizing the gains we've made. We must double-down on our commitment to #EndMalaria. #WorldMalariaDay
X: Malaria has shown that we must stay ahead of it to eliminate it. The @GlobalFund provides 65% of the world’s international financing for malaria programs and is investing in tools, partnerships, and innovations to accelerate the fight to #EndMalaria. #WorldMalariaDay
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.