New tools helped save an estimated one million lives from malaria last year, but rising drug resistance threatens to reverse gains, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
The WHO’s annual malaria report said wider use of dual‑ingredient nets and vaccines prevented about 170 million cases in 2024. Since the approval of the first malaria vaccine in 2021, 24 countries have added it to routine immunization programs. Seasonal chemoprevention has expanded to 20 countries, reaching 54 million children in 2024 compared with 200,000 in 2012.
Progress toward elimination continues, with 47 countries and one territory certified malaria‑free. Cabo Verde and Egypt were certified in 2024, while Georgia, Suriname and Timor‑Leste followed in 2025.
Still, malaria caused an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024 — nine million more cases than the previous year. About 95 percent of deaths occurred in Africa, mostly among children under five. WHO said drug resistance has been confirmed or suspected in at least eight African countries, with signs of declining efficacy in artemisinin‑based therapies.
“Increasing numbers of cases and deaths, the growing threat of drug resistance, and the impact of funding cuts all threaten to roll back the progress we have made,” WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. He added that with strong leadership and targeted investment, “the vision of a malaria‑free world remains achievable.”