World Malaria Day, marked annually on 25 April, was instituted by WHO Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007. It is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control.
This year, WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and other partners in promoting “Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite”, a grassroots campaign to re-energize efforts at all levels, from global policy to community action, to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination.
We stand at a defining moment. It is one of both immense promise and challenges, and calls for a shift from a business-as-usual approach to a whatever-it-takes mindset.
Our region has made excellent progress in the fight against malaria. South-East Asia is the only WHO region to have met the Global Technical Strategy (GTS) 2020 milestones for reducing malaria cases and deaths. We are on track to achieve the ambitious GTS 2025 and 2030 targets.
The success of the Maldives and Sri Lanka, certified malaria-free in 2015 and 2016, remains a point of pride for us. Of our nine endemic countries, four—Bhutan, India, Nepal and Timor-Leste—have achieved a greater than 63% reduction in malaria incidence since 2015. Timor-Leste and Bhutan are on the cusp of elimination.
Despite this, malaria remains a persistent challenge. Our region continues to be the second-largest contributor to the global malaria burden, and progress has plateaued in recent years. Political instability and conflict in certain areas have disrupted healthcare services.
The persistence of drug-resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion, evolving vector behaviours, insecticide resistance, and climate change further complicate our efforts. Hard-to-reach populations, fragile healthcare infrastructure, and declining international funding pose additional threats.
We have just five years left to achieve our regional target of malaria elimination by 2030. To succeed, we must take decisive action:
Reinvest
Financial sustainability is essential. With increasing constraints on funding, we must prioritize domestic resource mobilization and optimize existing funds to maximize impact.
Malaria elimination is an investment, not a cost. It brings significant economic and social benefits, improves workforce productivity, and reduces healthcare expenses. Financing this is a smart, high-return investment.
Reimagine
As malaria dynamics shift, our response has to evolve. We must embrace innovations in both products and in service delivery. Digital health solutions can strengthen surveillance and enable real-time decision-making, particularly in high-burden countries.
Strong surveillance systems that rapidly identify transmission hotspots and respond with targeted interventions are crucial. In conflict-affected areas, we need adaptive service delivery models that ensure continuity of care.
Novel delivery models, such as community-led case management, can expand access to interventions, particularly for the vulnerable and marginalized. Cross-border collaboration must also be reimagined, ensuring that mobile and migrant populations receive uninterrupted services.
Reignite
The fight against malaria demands more than just strategies and investments—it needs passion, commitment and urgency. Political leadership at the highest levels is needed to ensure that malaria elimination remains a national priority.
Frontline healthcare workers need recognition, motivation and support. Quite simply, they are the backbone of our efforts.
Communities must be empowered as active participants—through awareness, engagement, and ownership of interventions. If malaria is to end, all of us must take responsibility and play our part.
On this World Malaria Day 2025, let us remember that elimination is not the responsibility of governments and health agencies alone. It is a shared mission that requires the commitment of every individual, every community, and every partner.
The end of malaria is within reach. Let us reinvest in proven strategies, reimagine our approach, and reignite our collective determination. We can deliver on our promise of a malaria-free South-East Asia Region by 2030 - because malaria truly ends with us.
