Malaria

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 that progress stalled around 2018, and the COVID-19 pandemic has knocked us further off track.

Funding has plateaued, drug and insecticide resistance are increasing, and climate change threatens to push malaria transmission into new regions. Disruptions to malaria services caused by COVID-19 led to an increase in malaria deaths and cases. In 2021 there were an estimated 247 million cases of malaria and 619,000 malaria deaths worldwide; compared to 2019, there were about 15 million more cases and 51,000 more deaths.

More than ever before, the Global Fund needs to support countries in their efforts to revitalize and sustain the fight against malaria. We must strive to provide better and more equitable access to all health services, vastly increase funding for malaria programs, invest in new approaches and innovations and improve use of existing tools. If we do not increase investment in fighting malaria, we must accept that we are effectively abandoning the 2030 goal to end the disease as a public health threat.

Timely testing and treatment of malaria is fundamental to preventing deaths. The Global Fund works with partners to support the delivery of good quality, people-centered health services at public and private facilities and at the community level. Our partners also work with communities in malaria-endemic areas to provide information about what malaria is, how it is transmitted, how to prevent it, and, most importantly, what actions to take if malaria is suspected.

The more than 2 million community health workers in the countries where the Global Fund invests are a critical force in the fight to eliminate malaria, particularly in hard-to-reach rural villages. Community health workers lead outreach campaigns that raise awareness in communities about lifesaving prevention methods so people at risk for malaria can take full advantage of them.

Malaria prevention underpins malaria control efforts and is the most effective way to dramatically reduce cases and deaths. The Global Fund invests in multiple new and existing tools to prevent malaria.

These include insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) for children under 5, all of which are most often distributed through large-scale campaigns.