World Malaria Report 2024

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites transmitted through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is more common in tropical countries.

Recently, like every year WHO has released World Malaria Report for this year i.e. ‘World Malaria Report 2024’. The report highlights present situation of malaria, global estimates of malaria, global progress and much more.

Highlights of World Malaria Report 2024-

In 2023, the number of malaria cases are estimated at 263 mn cases of malaria, an increase of 11 mn cases compared with 2022 and 5,97,000 deaths are estimated worldwide, a decrease of 3000 deaths compared with 2022.
In 2023, 29 out of 83 malaria-endemic countries (including French Guiana) were responsible for nearly 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of malaria-related deaths.
Five countries- Nigeria (25.9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.6%), Uganda (4.8%), Ethiopia (3.6%) and Mozambique (3.5%)- together accounted for more than half of all global malaria cases.
Four countries accounted for more than half of all malaria deaths globally: Nigeria (30.9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11.3%), the Niger (5.9%) and the United Republic of Tanzania (4.3%).
Nigeria accounted for 39.3% of global malaria deaths in children aged under 5 years.
Between 2022 and 2023, notable decreases in estimated malaria cases were observed in Bangladesh (9.2%), India (9.6%), Indonesia (5.7%) and Nepal (58.3%). In contrast, significant increases were recorded in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (47.9%), Myanmar (45.1%) and Thailand (46.4%).
As of October 2024, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has certified 44 countries and one territory as malaria-free. Egypt was the 44th, the second country following Cabo Verde, to be officially declared malaria-free in 2024.
Countries with no reported malaria cases for at least three consecutive years are eligible to apply for WHO certification as malaria-free.

Vaccines and New-Generation Nets of Malaria-

In December 2023, the WHO added the R21 malaria vaccine to its list of prequalified vaccines, marking a major milestone in the fight against malaria. R21 was the second malaria vaccine to achieve WHO prequalification, following the RTS,S vaccine in July 2022.

By 2024, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi had integrated malaria vaccines into their routine childhood immunisation programs with support from the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), WHO and other partners. As of early November 2024, an additional 13 countries had begun administering malaria vaccines at a subnational level.

Clinical trials and pilot studies found that new generation net i.e. active ingredient insecticide-treated mosquito net (active ingredient ITNs) improved malaria control by 20–50% compared with standard pyrethroid-only nets; the studies were conducted between 2019 and 2022 in 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa reporting insecticide resistance.

Global Progress-

Since 2000, India has successfully averted:
- 2.2 billion malaria cases
- 12.7 million malaria-related deaths.
Between 2015 and 2023:
- Malaria incidence increased by 4.1%.
- The mortality rate decreased by 8.1%.
Despite significant progress since 2,000, the ambitious Global Technical Strategy (GTS) 2020 targets for malaria morbidity and mortality, based on 2015 data, were not met globally by 2023.
It is unlikely that the GTS and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for malaria morbidity and mortality for 2025 and 2030 will be achieved.
The malaria incidence in 2023 stood at 60 cases per 1,000 population at risk, nearly three times higher than the target of 21.3 cases per 1,000.
Malaria-related deaths per 1,00,000 population at risk decreased from 14.9 in 2015 to 13.7 in 2023.
- However, this is still more than double the target of 5.5 deaths per 1,00,000 in 2023.
- If this trend continues, by 2030, the number of deaths could be more than eight times the target of 1.5 per 1,00,000.

India’s Performance in World Malaria Report 2024-

In 1947, malaria was a major public health threat in India, with approximately 75 million cases and 8,00,000 deaths each year.
Decades of consistent effort have resulted in a remarkable 97% reduction in cases, with only 2 million cases and 83 deaths reported by 2023.
This progress highlights India’s dedication to combat malaria and improve the health of its citizens.
In 2024, India moved out of the WHO’s “High Burden to High Impact” (HBHI) group, entering a category of significantly lower or zero-burden.
In 2015, 10 states and Union Territories were classified as high-burden (Category 3) for malaria.
By 2023, only two states- Mizoram and Tripura- remain in Category 3, while four states- Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Meghalaya- moved to Category 2 after significantly reducing their case load.
Additionally, four other states- Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli- have made great strides, moving to Category 1 in 2023.
The number of states in Category 1 increased from 15 in 2015 to 24 in 2023, as many states progressed from high/medium-burden categories.
As of 2023, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry have achieved zero indigenous malaria cases, being classified in Category 0.
Between 2015 and 2023, both malaria cases and deaths have seen a remarkable decline of around 80%.
- Malaria cases dropped from 11,69,261 in 2015 to 2,27,564 in 2023.
- Malaria-related deaths fell from 384 to just 83.

The Indian government is working towards achieving a malaria-free status by 2030. The National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME), launched in 2016, outlined a clear strategy to eliminate indigenous malaria cases by 2027. In 2024, over 850 health professionals were trained through National Refresher Trainings, enhancing their skills for more effective malaria control.