World Malaria Day

World Malaria Day, marked each year on 25 April, is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. The Day was instituted by World Health Organization (WHO) Member States during the 2007 World Health Assembly.

Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. The parasites are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, called "malaria vectors." There are 5 parasite species that cause malaria in humans, and 2 of these species - P. falciparum and P. vivax - pose the greatest threat.

Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease that continues to have a devastating impact on the health and livelihood of people around the world.

There were an estimated 608 000 malaria deaths globally in 2022 compared to 619 000 in 2021. Malaria cases continue to rise, but at a slower rate. 249 million
new cases of malaria were recorded in 2022. 

Symptoms

Malaria is an acute febrile illness. In a non-immune individual, symptoms usually appear 10–15 days after the infective mosquito bite. The first symptoms - fever, headache, and chills - may be mild and difficult to recognize as malaria. If not treated within 24 hours, P. falciparum malaria can progress to severe illness, often leading to death.

Children with severe malaria frequently develop one or more of the following symptoms: severe anaemia, respiratory distress in relation to metabolic acidosis, or cerebral malaria.

In adults, multi-organ failure is also frequent. In malaria endemic areas, people may develop partial immunity, allowing asymptomatic infections to occur.

Prevention

Vector control is the main way to prevent and reduce malaria transmission. If coverage of vector control interventions within a specific area is high enough, then a measure of protection will be conferred across the community.

Treatment

Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria reduces disease and prevents deaths. It also contributes to reducing malaria transmission. The best available treatment, particularly for P. falciparum malaria, is artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).

Elimination and Eradication

Malaria elimination is defined as the interruption of local transmission of a specified malaria parasite species in a defined geographical area as a result of deliberate activities. Continued measures are required to prevent re-establishment of transmission.

Malaria eradication is defined as the permanent reduction to zero of the worldwide incidence of malaria infection caused by human malaria parasites as a result of deliberate activities. Interventions are no longer required once eradication has been achieved.

Certification of malaria elimination is the official recognition by WHO of a country’s malaria-free status. The certification is granted when a country has shown – with rigorous, credible evidence – that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been interrupted nationwide for at least the past three consecutive years.  A country must also demonstrate the capacity to prevent the re-establishment of transmission. 

Globally, 44 countries and territories have been granted a malaria-free certification from WHO – including, most recently, Cabo Verde (2024), Azerbaijan and Tajikistan (2023), El Salvador (2021), China (2021), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), Paraguay (2018) and Uzbekistan (2018).

Theme for 2024 - Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world

World Malaria Day 2024 will be marked under the theme “Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world”.

In recent years, progress in reducing malaria has ground to a standstill. Not only does malaria continue to directly endanger health and cost lives, but it also perpetuates a vicious cycle of inequity. People living in the most vulnerable situations including pregnant women, infants, children under 5 years of age, refugees, migrants, internally displaced people, and Indigenous Peoples continue to be disproportionately impacted.

The WHO African Region shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease – accounting, in 2022, for 94% and 95% of malaria case and deaths. Rural populations in the African region living in situations of poverty and with less access to education are the most impacted. In view of the current trajectory, critical 2025 milestones of the WHO global malaria strategy for reductions in malaria cases and deaths will be missed.

Populations at risk of malaria

• Malaria disproportionately affects those in situations of greatest poverty and vulnerability, with young children in the African Region suffering the greatest mortality.
• Refugees, migrants and internally displaced people are at higher risk of malaria, due to limited access to health services, and financial and geographical barriers. Migrant populations such as miners, agriculture workers, labourers and soldiers are particularly susceptible to malaria.
• Indigenous Peoples are at high risk of malaria due to the remote locations - far from health services - and conditions in which they often live.
• Pregnant women living in poor, rural areas are disproportionately impacted by malaria.Pregnancy reduces women’s immunity to malaria, making them more susceptible to infection and increasing their risk of severe disease and death.
• Malaria infection in pregnancy also carries substantial risks for the fetus and newborn child – including low birthweight, a strong risk factor for neonatal and childhood mortality.

Key messages

On World Malaria Day, let’s “Accelerate the fight against malaria for a more equitable world” through:

• Ending discrimination and stigma 
• Engaging communities in health decision-making 
• Bringing health care close to where people live and work through primary health care 
• Addressing factors that increase malaria risk 
• Including malaria control interventions in universal health coverage 
• Embracing innovation and scaling up WHO-recommended tools - Malaria responses can be strengthened by stepping up investment in the research and development of new tools that benefit all people at risk of the disease, and especially the poorest and most marginalized. 
• Every human being has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Malaria responses can be accelerated by applying human rights principles across health services and health system policies.
• Equity-oriented primary health care - An equity-oriented primary health care approach also entails intersectoral action to address the social and environmental determinants of malaria and fostering community engagement and social participation. 

Malaria elimination certification at a glance

Certification of malaria elimination is the official recognition by WHO of a country’s malaria-free status. WHO grants this certification when a country has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the past 3 consecutive years.

A country must also demonstrate the capacity to prevent the re-establishment of malaria transmission. A national surveillance system capable of rapidly detecting and responding to malaria cases (if they were occurring) must be operational, together with an appropriate programme to prevent re-establishment of transmission. 

Malaria vaccine

Source : WHO

Malaria control in India

National Center for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the central nodal agency for the
prevention and control of Vector Borne Diseases in India.

At present, the Monitoring & Evaluation reports of Malaria Elimination Program are compiled physically from the grass root levels of the health system, in stipulated formats and sent to NVBDCP for National level compilation and necessary action. This process consumes lot of time & energy for physical delivery of the state’s data to NVBDCP, which is usually around one month. For achieving online and real-time reporting in Malaria Elimination Program, two states were selected for pilot testing of the Web-based Malaria MIS. This application consists of information on Malaria case management, Vector Control, Reports,
Dashboard and Maps (using Google features). In the initial stages of this initiative, village-wise data entry is done by the ground level field workers like ANM, MPHW, etc.,

For more details, click here.

Related resources

1. National Center for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India
2. World malaria report 2023