2024 WHO global malaria report
The need for a coordinated and equitable response to malaria
Epidemiological context
Today, Wednesday, December 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the latest results in the fight against malaria. Despite notable progress since the early 2000s, with 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths averted since 2002, progress has stalled since 2015. In 2023, progress has not materialized as 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths were calculated, compared to 252 million cases and 600,000 deaths in 2022, and 226 million cases and 578,000 deaths in 2015.
Africa bears 95% of cases and deaths, with 11 countries accounting for two-thirds of cases[1], and half of all malaria deaths are concentrated in four countries: Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, and Tanzania.
Identified obstacles
The multiplication of humanitarian and climate crises significantly hampers malaria control efforts. According to WHO, 80 million people in malaria-endemic countries were displaced within or beyond their borders in 2023, 70% of them being uprooted due to conflicts or natural disasters. In Ethiopia, malaria cases tripled from 2.6 million in 2019 to 9.5 million in 2023. A recent study estimates that climate change could lead to an additional 555,000 malaria-related deaths[2] by 2050.
Another major obstacle is the lack of access to malaria prevention tools. In 2023, more than 40% of children under five and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa did not sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets. Universal and equitable access to malaria prevention tools is essential to effectively fight the disease.
Weak health systems and inadequate malaria surveillance further compound the pandemic, as well as do behavioral changes among malaria-carrying mosquitoes, along with growing resistance to insecticides and treatments.
A USD 4.3 billion funding gap for malaria control in 2023
In 2023, only USD 4 billion of the USD 8.3 billion required for malaria control was available, less than half the amount calculated by WHO. In 2019, the funding shortfall stood at USD 2.6 billion.
That year, 63% of malaria control funding came from international sources, while 37% was contributed by endemic countries themselves. The Global Fund provided 62% of international funding for malaria programs in 2023.
Innovations that bring hope
Despite the alarming situation, accelerated innovations such as next-generation bed nets and two recently deployed vaccines that show success when combined with other vector control tools, offer hope. The actions of the Global Fund, coordinated with its partners Gavi and Unitaid, will make it possible to reach the most vulnerable populations.
Hélène Berger, Executive Director of Friends of the Global Fund Europe, declared: « As we approach the next replenishment of the Global Fund in 2025, and despite the political and financial challenges many countries are facing, we must roll up our sleeves and work together to support the Global Fund. The Global Fund saved 65 million lives since its creation; let us help it save millions more. »
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Visit the 2024 WHO malaria report website
Download Friends Europe’s brief « New malaria vaccines: what they can and what they cannot change for the global malaria pandemic »
Friends of the Global Fund Europe, member of the Team Zero Malaria Committee
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[1] Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda.
[2] Analysis by the Malaria Atlas Project and Boston Consulting Group, November 2024: https://malariaatlas.org/