Published: 8 December 2025

Rwanda and Togo have officially launched their national Malaria and NTDs Youth Corps, joining Africa’s growing youth-led movement against malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). With these two additions, 19 African countries now have established youth corps – young leaders aged 15 to 35 driving community-level action, advocacy, and accountability in the fight to eliminate diseases that continue to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

Rwanda’s launch

Rwanda’s launch brought together representatives from the Rwanda Biomedical Center (Malaria and NTD Programme), the END Fund, University of Rwanda, Rwanda NGO Forum, youth organisations, and local media. The event also served as an opportunity to endorse the Youth Corps’ 2025-2026 action plan, setting a clear roadmap for the year ahead.

We are a generation choosing action over indifference. As Rwanda’s Youth Corps, we stand united in the conviction that health is a right, not a privilege, and we pledge to lead with courage in the fight to end malaria and NTDs in Rwanda and beyond.

Dr. Tunga Christian, Representative, Rwanda Malaria & NTDs Youth Corps

Togo’s launch

In Togo, the launch drew high-level participation including the coordinators of both the National Malaria Control Programme (PNLP) and the National NTD Programme (PNMTN), the WHO Togo representative for malaria and NTDs, a representative from the Ministry of Youth, the Vice President of Junior Chamber International, a representative from the University of Lomé, and the PMI focal point.

History will remember what we do, and our children will live with the results. We have chosen to act together and to make health a basic right for everyone, since doing nothing makes us part of the problem.

Essohana Darius ADJA, Team Lead, Malaria and NTDs Youth Corps Togo

A fight on multiple fronts 

The launches come at a critical moment when the malaria fight needs all hands on deck. The WHO World Malaria Report 2025, released this week, shows an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024 which is roughly 9 million more cases than the previous year. AU member states bear 97% of these deaths, most among children under five. While new tools like dual-ingredient nets and malaria vaccines helped prevent an estimated 170 million cases and 1 million deaths in 2024, the report warns that antimalarial drug resistance has now been confirmed or suspected in about 9 African countries, threatening to undermine treatment effectiveness. Progress in reducing malaria deaths remains far off track.

At the same time, a recent report from ALMA and Malaria No More UK warns that a malaria resurgence could cost sub-Saharan Africa $83 billion in lost GDP by 2030, alongside 525 million additional cases and 990,000 deaths – including 750,000 children under five. Averting this outcome will require action from all fronts: domestic resource mobilisation, multisectoral engagement, and a whole-of-society response. This is where young people are stepping up.

With Rwanda and Togo now on board, the Malaria and NTDs Youth Corps movement continues to expand. ALMA welcomes Rwanda and Togo to the youth corps family and invites more partners, governments, and communities to join this movement. At a time when international support is uncertain and the threats are mounting, Africa’s young people could be the social movement that gets us over the finish line.

About Malaria and NTDs Youth Corps

The youth corps initiative was launched in 2021 by the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) to engage young people aged 15 to 35 as champions in the fight against malaria and neglected tropical diseases.

The corps operate in partnership with national governments, ministries of health, and national malaria control programmes. Countries with established youth corps include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.