PURPOSE: Reaching the zero malaria target. This year, WHO and partners will mark World Malaria Day on 25 April, by celebrating the achievements of countries that are approaching – and achieving – malaria elimination. In the 1960s, malaria was retreating – until the world hit pause. Global eradication efforts were abandoned in 1969, and millions of lives were lost. It took 30 years for the world to fight back against the deadly disease. Let’s not let history repeat itself. They provide inspiration for all nations that are working to stamp out this deadly disease and improve the health and livelihoods of their populations. The World Health Organization make a new report highlighting successes and lessons learned among the “E-2020” group of malaria-eliminating countries. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of these countries reported zero indigenous malaria cases in 2020, while others made impressive progress in their journey to becoming malaria-free.
FORUM: "Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must." World Malaria Day 2026. Today, we highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. Science is advancing faster than ever. For the first time, ending malaria in our lifetime is a real possibility. New vaccines, treatments, malaria control tools and pioneering technologies - including genetic modification of mosquitos and long-acting injectables - are in development. Already, 25 countries are rolling out malaria vaccines to protect 10 million children a year. Next-generation mosquito nets now make up 84% of all new nets distributed. Nationally-led programmes are driving change. The possibility has never been greater. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #WorldMalariaDay, #Malaria, #25April.
EVENTS: On Saturday; April 25th to mark the World Malaria Day 2026, the World Health Organization joins partners to launch the campaign: "Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must." This is a rallying cry to grasp the moment—to protect lives now and fund a malaria-free future. With the tools and resources available today, no one should die from malaria. For the first time, that's not ambition. It's real. Science is advancing faster than ever. New vaccines, treatments, malaria control tools and pioneering technologies, including gene drive, and long-acting injectables, are in development. Already, 25 countries are rolling out malaria vaccines to protect 10 million children a year. Next-generation mosquito nets now make up 84% of all new nets distributed. Nationally-led programmes are driving change. But malaria doesn't wait. When funding falls and programmes weaken, it comes back fast, killing hundreds of thousands more children and reversing hard-won gains.The possibility has never been greater. And neither has the cost of letting it slip. Register to Participate!
WEBINARS: As part of PAHO’s Regional Disease Elimination Initiative, the Plan of Action for Malaria Elimination in the Americas 2026–2030 serves as a framework to guide policy and strategy changes, promote the adoption of new interventions, and strengthen partnerships to set the Region on the path toward malaria elimination. Watch the webinar on the Plan of Action for Malaria Elimination in the Americas 2026–2030!
On Saturday; April 25th to mark the World Malaria Day 2026, The Malaria Consortium will held a virtual event entitled ''Beating malaria: Progress, partnerships and what comes next''. The Malaria Consortium Chief Executive, Dr James Tibenderana, speaks with Myriad Australia — a giving community that connects donors with high-impact organisations tackling global challenges — about his personal connection to malaria and his commitment to ending the disease. He reflects on Malaria Consortium’s work using proven tools like insecticide-treated nets, rapid diagnostic tests and seasonal malaria chemoprevention, and shows why strong health systems, collaboration and sustained funding are key to protect hard-won gains against malaria. Watch the webcast!
On April 23, 2026, The Geneva Learning Foundation held a webinar entitled "Malaria turning the tide: 10 years of TGLF" to mark the World Malaria Day 2026. This will be the first of a monthly livestream where we hear directly from the community, share what we are learning, and announce what is ahead. For World Malaria Day, join health and humanitarian workers driven to end malaria. Now we can. Now we must. “My family does not go more than two weeks without someone being struck down by malaria.” That is a physician in Kinshasa. She is the person her community relies on to end this disease. Since December 2024, we have been listening to experiences like hers from health workers in over 70 countries – and sharing them back with the community. They sometimes see change before global surveillance does. Malaria appearing in places that were previously malaria-free. Climate change redrawing the map of transmission faster than programmes can adapt. But they also describe what they are doing about it. Community health workers mobilizing 2,000 households across 550 villages with no external funding. A nurse in Zambia noticing that peak season is no longer a peak. It is now year-round. A physician in Côte d’Ivoire cutting cases in his district through bed net distribution and routine integration. Get the flyer and watch the webinar!
On April 8th, 2026 a Media briefing entitled ''Malaria Vaccines, Trends, and What’s Ahead'' was held by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to discuss the rollout of new malaria vaccines, the global state of malaria, including recent trends in cases, and the potential impact of shifting global health funding. Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that in 2024 took more than 600,000 lives globally. The Topics discussed:
The rollout of malaria vaccines and treatments across African countries and key milestones achieved.
New tools to track vaccine introduction, including the IVAC malaria vaccine tracker.
The current global state of malaria and recent increases in cases in specific countries.
Early indications of how reductions in U.S. funding may influence malaria control, leading to an increase in cases and deaths.
How funding changes may affect countries’ ability to expand access to malaria vaccines.
What these developments mean for global malaria control efforts in 2026 and beyond.
Insights from: Jane M. Carlton, PhD, director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bloomberg. Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the School and in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. Her research uses comparative and integrative multi-molecular approaches to further understand the biology and evolution of malaria parasites and their mosquito vectors. William Moss, MD, a professor in the departments of Epidemiology and International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute; and executive director at the School’s International Vaccine Access Center. His research focuses on the epidemiology and control of malaria in southern Africa. Watch the virtual event!
PUBLICATION: On April 23rd, during the World Malaria Day, the first insights report by and for people who fight malaria in their commmunities will be launched. This report was developed in collaboration with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. And because The Geneva Learning Foundation turns ten this year, we will share what is coming next. New courses, new programmes, and new ways to join.
PUBLICATION: World Malara Report 2025. Since 2000, 2.3 billion cases and 14 million deaths have been averted. To date, 47 countries have been certified malaria-free (of which two in 2024 and three in 2025), while 37 countries reported fewer than 1000 cases in 2024. Success is possible, even in tough areas: The Greater Mekong Subregion proves elimination is achievable, with cases falling by nearly 90% despite long-standing drug resistance. Between 2000 and 2024, the number of malaria-endemic countries fell sharply, dropping from 108 to 80. Over the same period:Countries with fewer than 10 000 cases rose from 27 in 2000 to 46 in 2024. Countries with fewer than 100 indigenous cases increased from 6 to 26. Countries with fewer than 10 indigenous cases increased from 4 to 24. But the global situation is stalling: In 2024, there were an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths—a slight increase from 2023. According to the World Malaria Report 2025, progress is at risk: Biological challenges:Drug resistance: Artemisinin partial resistance is confirmed in four African countries (Eritrea, Rwanda, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania,) and spreading. This is a critical danger to the main treatments for malaria.
STATEMENT: Read the Statement from Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO on World Malaria Day 2026; April 25th.
PODCASTS: What new approaches are countries using to reach people at risk of malaria with the services they need? The WHO spoke with representatives from National Malaria Programmes about innovations in the delivery of malaria prevention, diagnostics and more. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
Campaign Materials: The World Malaria Day 2026 campaign provides advocacy tools, messages, graphics and lessons learned to help you advocate to end malaria in your community.Get the campaign materials!
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria worldwide, with 627,000 deaths in 2020 alone. Most of these deaths occurred on the African continent. Despite being preventable and treatable, malaria kills approximately 260,000 African children under the age of five every year. A highly waterborne disease, an increase in natural disasters such as floods from heavy rains will dramatically increase malaria rates. Through our HOPE Project, HPIC has been addressing malaria in rural communities of Northern Ghana since 2017. By training and equipping community health volunteers (CHVs) to conduct regular home visits to diagnose and treat malaria, as well as to conduct community education sessions (referred to locally as ‘durbars’), the HOPE Project aims to reduce malaria-related child deaths. In many rural communities, CHVs provide the only healthcare community members ever receive. In providing mobile healthcare, HPIC is reducing the burden of malaria in remote and underserved communities.
ACTIONS
The WHO is raising awareness about the critical role of innovation in the fight against malaria – including innovations in new tools and innovations in the way that currently available tools are delivered. WHO is recommending the broad use of RTS,S vaccine, the world’s first malaria vaccine. If implemented broadly, the vaccine could save tens of thousands of lives each year. Read more on the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030, 2021 update. Today; 25 African countries now leading the Zero Malaria Starts with Me movement.
Join the ZERO Malaria campaign to eliminate Malaria.
Introduce the Lifesaving RTS,S Malaria Vaccine.
Mobilize communities to help prevent and control malaria.
Provide long-lasting insecticidal nets to achieve blanket coverage in a number of villages
Raise money to buy and distribute bednets.
Tackle malaria in remote mining communities.
Harness innovation to fight an ancient killer.
PARTNERS
The World Malaria Day is co-organized by the World Health Organization (WHO); The WHO/PAHO, the WHO Regional Office for Africa; The RBM Partnership, The Global Fund; The Global Alliance Malaria No More. With the participation of the Africa Childrens Development Trust (ACDT); The African Rural Schools Foundation; The All For Children Inc.; The Amazon Promise; The African Medical and Research Foundation's (AMREF); The BioVision; The Concern Universal; The Drive Against Malaria; The Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD); The Global Minimum (Gmin); The Association of Youths Against Malaria; The Health in Harmony; The His Nets; The Holy Innocents; The IMA World Health/DFID; The Individs; The International Midwife Assistance (IMA); The Kalene Mission Hospital; The Kids Aid Tanzania/Lions Club llemela; The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM); The Malaria Consortium and several other Non-Governmental Organizations, Medical researchers and academics.