WHO warns Africa off track on Malaria goals as climate change threatens elimination push

Nairobi, Kenya - The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Africa is falling behind in its efforts to reduce malaria cases and deaths, with climate change, drug resistance, inadequate funding and low intervention coverage posing significant threats to the continent's goal of eliminating the disease by 2030. In 2024, Africa accounted for 94% of global malaria cases and 95% of malaria deaths, with the World Malaria Report 2025 reporting an estimated 282 million malaria cases worldwide, a nine million increase from the previous year.

At the 2nd East African Community Malaria Stakeholders Meeting in Nairobi, WHO Kenya Deputy Representative Dr. Boston Zimba outlined six priorities to guide the continent's response: political leadership, new tools, data and digital health, financing, tackling emerging biological threats, and addressing the intersection between climate change, health, and malaria.

Zimba emphasized climate change as a major factor threatening progress, stating that changing weather patterns can create mosquito breeding sites and alter transmission patterns across the continent.

Israel's Ambassador to Kenya, Gideon Behar, echoed these concerns, noting that climate change is expanding the geographical conditions favorable to malaria transmission and warned that the region must prepare for a potential increase in cases due to rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. Behar also highlighted the anticipated effects of El Niño and stressed the importance of regional cooperation in malaria elimination efforts.