MALARIA
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites. The parasites are transmitted to people through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. There are five disease-causing Plasmodium species, but P. falciparum is the deadliest and predominant in sub-Saharan Africa, whereas P. vivax is the most geographically widespread and accounts for the majority of malaria cases in South America and Southeast Asia.
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Malaria is an acute febrile illness. Frequent symptoms include fever, chills and headache, if left untreated it can progress to severe manifestations, such as severe anaemia, cerebral malaria and even death.
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Due to global efforts malaria deaths have been reduced by half, between 2000 and 2019, since then progress has stalled. Still...
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>> Every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria.
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Malaria is curable and preventable. Methods of prevention include vector control, insecticide-treated nets and Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women and infancy.
76%
of all deaths occur in children under 5
249 Mio
cases annually
≈ 43%
of the world's population at risk
94%
of all cases occur in Africa
at a glance
*Data refers to 2022
https://www.who.int/teams/global-malaria-programme/reports/world-malaria-report-2023
World Malaria Day is celebrated on 25th April, as an opportunity to raise awareness and mobilise political commitment
towards Malaria research, control and prevention.
Vaccines, the way forward
Thanks to tremendous collaborative efforts, there are now two licensed malaria vaccines, RTS,S/AS01 (MosquirixTM) and R21/Matrix-M, available for children living in areas with high or moderate malaria transmission.
EVI supported the development of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine and is committed to the implementation of the licensed vaccines and to the development of the next-generation malaria vaccines by building a portfolio that encompasses pre-erythrocytic, blood-stage, transmission-blocking and placental malaria vaccine candidates and combination malaria vaccines against both P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites.
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