The 2025 World Malaria Report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides both relief and a stark warning for global health policymakers. New measures, such as vaccines and better mosquito nets, are expected to help avert 170 million malaria infections and one million fatalities in 2024. Nonetheless, the overall number of infections has increased, and the possibility of treatment resistance is casting a long shadow over future efforts.

According to the report, the increased use of dual-ingredient insecticide nets and the introduction of WHO-recommended malaria vaccinations have improved routine public health systems. Since the first malaria vaccine was licensed in 2021, 24 nations have included it in their national vaccination programmes. . Seasonal malaria chemoprevention, which involves administering drugs to children during high-risk months, has grown to 20 countries, with an estimated 54 million children in 2024, up from 200,000 in 2012. 

Elimination initiatives are also headed in the correct path. Malaria has now been declared eradicated in 47 nations and one territory. Cabo Verde and Egypt reached this milestone in 2024, followed by Georgia, Suriname, and Timor-Leste in 2025. These successes demonstrate what is achievable when surveillance, treatment, and prevention are coordinated. 

However, progress is precarious. The research predicts 282 million malaria infections and 610,000 fatalities in 2024, nine million more than the previous year. Approximately 95 per centt of these deaths occurred in the WHO African Region, primarily among children under five. 

"New malaria prevention tools give us new hope, but significant challenges remain," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "The rising number of cases and deaths, the growing threat of medication resistance, and the impact of funding cuts all threaten to reverse the progress we've accomplished in the last two decades. However, none of these challenges are insurmountable. With the leadership of the most affected countries and targeted investment, the aim of a malaria-free world is still possible." 

Drug resistance is the most significant scientific concern. Partial resistance to artemisinin, one of the major chemicals in frontline malaria medications, has been verified or suspected in at least eight African countries. Resistance indicates that the parasite is growing less receptive to the medicine, which reduces treatment success. Gene deletions known as pfhrp2 are also reducing the accuracy of quick diagnostic tests. At the same time, Anopheles stephensi, a mosquito species that adapts well to urban environments and can withstand several insecticides, has spread to nine African countries. 

Extreme weather patterns, caused by climate change, are transforming mosquito habitats. Conflicts and political instability are causing disruptions in healthcare services.And worldwide funding has stuck at US$3.9 billion, less than half of the US$9.3 billion needed by 2025. 

"The World Malaria Report is unequivocal: medication resistance is increasing. Dr Martin Fitchettt of the Medicineses for Malaria Venture stated that our reaction must be equally clear: new medications with novel modes of action. He also noted advances with the new non-artemisinin therapy Ganaplacide-Lumefantrine. 

WHO has urged countries to follow through on their promises under the Yaoundé Declaration and to work together under the Big Push programme. Without continuous investment and coordinated solutions, the world risks losing hard-earned progress against one of humanity's oldest diseases.