World Malaria Day is an international observance aimed at increasing global awareness on malaria and highlighting the need for sustained efforts to prevent and control this deadly disease.
Official Date: April 25
This day also stresses the dire need for investing and innovating to speed up the process of preventing Malaria which has stalled in some countries in recent years.
Key Focus Areas
- Raise awareness on Malaria, its treatment, and preventive behaviors.
- Educate people on the preventability and curability of Malaria if treated appropriately.
- Emphasize the need for governments and medical entities to set the world back on a trajectory towards achieving the 2030 targets of the World Health Organization’s global malaria strategy to make the world Malaria-free.
- Promote the crucial role of RTS,S malaria vaccine in preventing the disease, especially in children who live in areas with moderate and high malaria transmission rates.
- Strive to provide Malaria vaccines and treatments to hard-to-reach communities that do not have access to proper healthcare.
Top Facts
- 4 billion people were at risk of contracting malaria in 87 countries in 2019, and the number of cases reached 299 million.
- Malaria took the lives of 409,000 people in 2019, most of whom lived in sub-Saharan Africa.
- The number of Malaria cases is significantly higher among people who suffer from poverty and negligence due to their inability to access health facilities.
- 241 million new cases of malaria were recorded in 2020, resulting in 627000 deaths in 85 countries.