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: “Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite.” World Malaria Day 2025. The WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and other partners in – to re-energize efforts at all levels, from global policy to community action, to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination as well as to develop concrete measures to overcome them. The global community recommitted to malaria in the late 1990s and, as a result, an estimated 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths have been prevented over more than two decades. But after years of steady declines, progress has stalled. Today, malaria claims an estimated 1 life every minute, with most deaths occurring in the WHO African Region. Further progress and decades of hard-won gains are in jeopardy. Extreme weather events, conflict, humanitarian emergencies, and economic stresses are disrupting malaria control efforts in many endemic countries, leaving tens of millions of people with limited access to the services they need to prevent, detect and treat the disease. Without prompt treatment, malaria can rapidly escalate to severe illness and death. It’s time to recommit to ending malaria. We have the knowledge, life-saving tools and targeted prevention, testing and treatment methods to defeat this disease. We must reinvest in proven interventions, reimagine our strategies to overcome current obstacles, and reignite our collective efforts together with countries and communities to accelerate progress towards ending malaria. We know how to end malaria. The choice is ours: act now or risk losing ground. Ending malaria is not just a health imperative; it is an investment in a more equitable, safer and prosperous future for every nation. On World Malaria Day, let’s Reinvest, Reimagine, and Reignite so that Malaria Ends with Us. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #WorldMalariaDay, #Malaria, #25April.
EVENTS: On March 25th, the World Malaria Day 2025 will be held at WHO HQ and Regional offices, During the observance the panelists, stakeholders and participant will held round-table discussion and will share experiences and reflections on the following topics: 1-Accelerate the fight against malaria for a more equitable world through: Ending discrimination and stigma; 2-Engaging communities in health decision-making; "3-Bringing health care close to where people live and work through primary health care; '4- Addressing factors that increase malaria risk; 5 - Including malaria control interventions in universal health coverage; 6- Efforts to reach the target of zero malaria.
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: .“Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite.” The World Malaria Day 2025 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.