Strategic interventions, collaborations needed to eliminate malaria

On April 25, 2026, the world observed World Malaria Day with the theme, “Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must.” For the first time in decades, this statement is backed by real scientific progress and a brief window of opportunity.

 Malaria remains one of the toughest public health challenges, tied to poverty, climate risks, and health inequalities. But now, there is a new sense of hope that we finally have better tools to fight malaria and protect the most vulnerable.

 Breakthroughs in vaccines, better mosquito nets, improved diagnostics services, and cutting-edge technologies such as genetically modified mosquitoes and long-acting prevention methods are changing the fight against malaria.

 According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), several countries including Kenya, Ghana and Malawi have rolled out malaria vaccines into their national or sub-national routine immunization programs.

 The malaria vaccines are now being given to millions of children every year, something that seemed far out of reach just ten years ago. The current rollout aims to protect roughly 10 million children annually.

 In Kenya, the Ministry of Health successfully rolled out the malaria vaccine which has helped reduce the prevalence of malaria by a third over the past decade. This progress is a major leap toward the country’s ambitious goal of reducing malaria cases and deaths by 90 per cent by 2030.

 The latest annual report by the WHO shows that malaria prevalence fell from eight per cent in 2015 to 5.6 per cent in 2025. This is a 2.4 percentage point drop, representing the most significant shift in the country’s malaria burden in a generation.

 This progress is attributed to the Ministry of Health’s decision to adopt the R21/Matrix-M vaccine, a more cost-effective and an efficient alternative to RTS,S, the world’s first widely used malaria vaccine. This vaccine provides up to 75 per cent protection and is also cheaper.

 In Kenya’s malaria vaccine programme, the reduced cost has been transformative, enabling expansion into 12 additional sub-counties in Western Kenya, one of the country’s highest malaria burden regions.

 In addition, with improved bed nets, preventive drugs and expanded care, the country’s response began to turn the tide, therefore, producing measurable results for the first time in years.

 While this progress is encouraging, we cannot afford complacency. We must continue with our strategic approach and channel all efforts toward the fight against malaria.

 First, the country leadership must remain at the centre. Nationally driven programmes rooted in local realities are proving to be the most effective engines of progress. Empowering the local communities, civil societies, and community-based organizations to lead such programmes ensures not only relevance, but long-term sustainability.

 Second, financing must be sustainable and aligned with strategic priorities. In a constrained global economic environment, every shilling must be maximized and directed toward high-impact, data-driven interventions that deliver measurable outcomes.

 Third, partnerships must be predictable and aligned.  Malaria elimination is not achieved through sporadic efforts, but through consistent collaboration. Both the national and county governments, partners, researchers, and communities must move with shared accountability and long-term vision.

 Fourth, we are in a race against evolution. As mosquitoes develop resistance to our drugs, insecticides, and diagnostic tests, innovation becomes our most vital investment, not an afterthought.

 Lastly, we need to put the power in the hands of the community. They should not be passive bystanders but at the heart of the solution in this fight against malaria. For any of these interventions to work, there must be real trust and local pride in the mission.

 The message for World Malaria Day 2026 is a simple but urgent truth that we have never been closer to ending malaria.

 The science we need already exists, the tools to deliver it are firmly within our reach, and the progress we have made proves that success is possible. What remains is whether we will summon the will to finish what we have started.