WHO Reports 610,000 Malaria Deaths in 2024 as Global Cases Rise
The World Health Organization says malaria killed around 610,000 people in 2024, warning that progress made over the past two decades is now under serious threat.
In its latest annual malaria report released on Thursday, the WHO said most of the deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, and children made up the majority of the victims. The disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death for children in the region.
According to the report, global malaria cases also increased—from 273 million in 2023 to an estimated 282 million in 2024. Health officials say this rise shows how quickly the situation is worsening, especially in countries already struggling with weak health systems.
The WHO identified several reasons for the increase. One of the biggest concerns is growing drug resistance, meaning the malaria parasite is slowly becoming less responsive to treatments that once worked well. Another factor is climate change, which is creating warmer and wetter conditions that help mosquitoes survive and spread the disease. The organization also warned that funding cuts are limiting the ability of countries to provide preventive measures like bed nets and rapid testing.
Some countries have seen especially sharp increases in malaria cases. The report highlights Ethiopia, Madagascar and Yemen as areas where infections rose significantly in 2024. Conflict, poverty, and climate pressures in some of these places have made it harder for health workers to reach affected communities.
Malaria is caused by a parasite that spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito. Over the years, the battle against malaria has seen many ups and downs. At the start of the 2000s, the world faced widespread resistance to the drug chloroquine, and malaria deaths were extremely high—killing more than 1.8 million people every year.
A major breakthrough came with artemisinin-based medicines, which became the main treatment and helped reduce death rates dramatically. These drugs continue to be the most effective first-line treatment in many countries. However, the parasite is now showing early signs of resistance to these medicines as well, raising fears that the world could lose one of its strongest tools against malaria.
The WHO says urgent action is needed to prevent a reversal of the progress made over the past 20 years. It is calling on governments, donors and health partners to increase support, strengthen malaria prevention campaigns, and invest in new tools including better medicines, vaccines and mosquito control strategies.
