WHO Warns of Increase in Malaria Cases and Deaths

Deaths linked to malaria last year rose last year, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, warning also of an increase in cases and resistance to current treatment.

There were some 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths recorded worldwide in 2024 -- slightly up on the previous 12 months -- underlining the mosquito-borne disease as a continuing serious global health issue.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the increase in deaths and cases, combined with funding cuts "threaten to roll back the progress we have made over the past two decades".

But he added: "None of these challenges is insurmountable. With the leadership of the most-affected countries and targeted investment, the vision of a malaria-free world remains achievable."

Africa remains by far the most-affected region, with 94 percent of cases and 95 percent of malaria deaths, the majority (75 percent) involving children under five.

Five countries -- the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda -- account for more than half of the number of cases, the WHO said in a new report.

But the global health agency said progress had still been made.

Since the WHO approved the first vaccines against malaria in 2021, 24 countries have introduced routine immunisation programmes.

Chemoprevention, which involves the use of medication to prevent infection during high-risk malaria seasons, is now being implemented in 20 countries, reaching 54 million children in 2024 -- up from about 200,000 in 2021.

The WHO has now certified 47 countries and one territory as being exempt from malaria, including Cape Verde and Egypt in 2024, as well as Georgia, Suriname and East Timor in 2025.

Progress in the fight against malaria had already stalled in recent years, notably because of climate change, an increase in conflict and resistance to drugs and insecticides.

The WHO's director of malaria and neglected tropical diseases, Daniel Ngamije, said underfunding of malaria response programmes had exacerbated the challenges.

There was now an "obvious risk in massive uncontrolled resurgence of disease", he added.

The WHO said its targets for cutting malaria deaths remained "far off track".

The 610,000 deaths in 2024 correspond to 13.8 deaths per 100,000 people -- more than three times the global target of 4.5 deaths per 100,000. – AFP/RSS