Africa still bears the brunt of the global malaria burden—with 94% of cases occurring on the continent. According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2024 World Malaria Report, approximately two thirds of global malaria cases and deaths are concentrated in 11 African countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. While the world must mobilise around Africa to put an end to malaria, the disease remains a deeply local public health issue and a challenge for the new generation of African scientists. Eliminating malaria demands African leadership, innovation, and investment.
The WHO Report indicates that there were 11 million more cases of the disease in 2023 than there were in 2022. Another 600,000 people died in 2023 with no significant improvement compared to 2022. While some progress has been made in combating malaria, it is not enough, or fast enough. Existing prevention methods like drugs, bed nets, and vaccines have saved millions of lives, however, they will unlikely be able to take us to eliminating the disease completely.
