Investing in Malaria: Saving Millions of Lives and Boosting the Global Economy – Opinion

Statement by Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, About the World Malaria Report 2024

December 11, 2024

Many of the countries most affected by malaria are also on the front lines of the fight against climate change. In sub-Saharan Africa, where one child dies from malaria every minute, changing weather conditions – from heavy rainfall to extreme heatwaves and long-term droughts – are usually not only changing the geography of malaria, but in addition deepening existing inequalities. Water shortages, power outages and disruptions to produce chains are further burdening already fragile health systems. Meanwhile, food insecurity and poverty weaken people’s resilience and overwhelm local medical examiners, a lot of whom struggle to feed their very own families.

We have the tools to fight malaria – from dual-active mosquito nets and seasonal chemoprevention to latest vaccines. However, progress has been continuing for several years. To address this, we must speed up our efforts with a dual approach: investing in latest technologies while mitigating the burdens that climate change places on health systems. This often means getting back to basics – providing healthcare staff with essential resources equivalent to bicycles, cell phones and even a each day meal so that they can provide lifesaving services to those that need them most.

Investing more within the fight against malaria couldn’t only save thousands and thousands of lives, but could also help rebalance global economic power and boost trade. This, in turn, could unlock additional funds to strengthen health systems and increase health security each in Africa and all over the world. Investment in malaria shouldn’t be only a health imperative – it’s a strategic enabler for broader, far-reaching economic and social advantages.

This 12 months report presents encouraging data and trends in global malaria control. Between 2000 and 2023, 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths were prevented worldwide. Forty-four countries and one territory have been officially certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization, and lots of others are steadily moving toward the goal of elimination. Some countries with higher burdens have also achieved significant reductions in malaria cases.

Despite this progress, malaria stays a serious global health challenge, with 597,000 deaths in 2023 alone. The African region continues to suffer essentially the most from the disease, with roughly two-thirds of the worldwide malaria burden concentrated in 11 African countries. It is estimated that the African region alone accounted for 94% of world cases and 95% of malaria-related deaths in 2023. More than half of those deaths occurred in 4 countries: Nigeria (30.9%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (11.3%) %), Niger (5.9%) and the United Republic of Tanzania (4.3%).