Friday 25 April 2025 (Abu Dhabi, UAE) – World Malaria Day is an opportunity to reflect on the measurable progress achieved through decades of coordinated global action and on the challenges that lie ahead. Sustained investments in vector control, diagnostics, antimalarial therapies, surveillance systems, and operational research have significantly reduced malaria incidence and mortality. The map is shrinking, over 40 countries have been certified malaria-free, demonstrating that elimination is both feasible and scalable with the right strategies and sustained political will.

Yet, the path ahead is complex. Progress has stalled. More than 600,000 people die each year. Emerging threats such as insecticide and drug resistance, conflict, displacement, and a warming planet challenge malaria control and elimination. Climate variability is altering transmission dynamics and extending the geographic range in terms of latitude and altitude of the Anopheles mosquito, requiring enhanced predictive modeling and adaptive programmatic responses.

Rebuilding momentum demands a recommitment to evidence-based interventions, increased financing (domestic and international), and strengthened implementation of national malaria strategies. At the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE), we advocate for country-led, data-driven programs supported by robust health systems, regional collaboration, and innovation across diagnostics, therapeutics, and vector control.

Elimination is not an aspirational ideal—it is a strategic imperative. With targeted investments, integrated approaches, we can realize a future where malaria no longer threatens lives or livelihoods. A future where no one dies because of a mosquito bite.