The world is facing a perfect storm of malaria challenges that threaten to destroy the progress the malaria community has made over the past two decades. 

Without defeating these challenges, we will be unable to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals on malaria and the targets in the African Union’s Catalytic Framework to End AIDS, TB and Eliminate Malaria in Africa by 2030.

Two decades of progress at risk

In the past two decades, we have made extraordinary progress against malaria. 3 billion mosquito nets have been deployed. Millions of homes have been sprayed with residual insecticide to protect against mosquitoes. And through this, 11.7 million lives have been saved since 2000. This progress has meant millions of young children from Africa have enjoyed a future that would have been previously denied.

The perfect storm of challenges

However, progress has stalled in recent years due to a perfect storm of malaria challenges, including:

• funding shortfalls, linked to the ongoing financial crisis, where the risk of stagnating resources could lead to an extra 280,000 deaths between 2027 and 2029 (Malaria Atlas Project)
• climate change leading to more extreme weather events such as flooding, which increases mosquito breeding sites, leading to malaria upsurges
• insecticide and drug resistance, requiring more expensive tools – such as the highly effective next-generation mosquito nets – as well as new Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs)
• invasion of the An. stephensi mosquito that is more likely to transmit malaria in urban areas, impacting an urbanising Africa
• humanitarian crises, which can force vulnerable people – including refugees and internally displaced people – out of their homes with only poor access to health care and malaria prevention

Individually, these challenges would be difficult to overcome. But, together, they pose a threat of devastating proportions. Failing to act now against malaria will lead to an upsurge in malaria cases and deaths and put malaria elimination out of reach for another generation.

An opportunity to save millions of lives

These challenges are not insurmountable. Through valuable research, we now have a powerful set of tools that can help save millions of lives and get us back on track to eliminate, and ultimately eradicate, this disease. These tools include:

• new vaccines rolling out across Africa
• next-generation mosquito nets
• new antimalarial treatments and diagnostics

The pipeline of tools is even stronger, including spatial repellents and transgenic mosquitoes.

Along with these new tools, we also have a renewed commitment from African ministers of health with the endorsement of the Yaoundé Declaration. This declaration – signed in early 2024 – reaffirms African Union member states’ commitment to end malaria in Africa and builds on the catalytic framework.

Our next steps

As we approach the Global Fund and Gavi replenishments in 2025, we are working with African Union member states and fellow malaria partners to:

• generate increased political will
• incentivise the deployment of international and domestic funding to help the new tools reach those most in need

Together, we can turn the tide against malaria, save millions of lives and create a safer world for generations to come. Now is the time for a big push.