About the campaign

On World Malaria Day 2021, WHO and partners will recognize the achievements of countries that are nearing malaria elimination, as well as those that have crossed the finish line. They are inspiring others to get to zero and create a world in which no one dies of malaria.

According to the World malaria report 2020, the number of countries with fewer than 100 indigenous malaria cases – a strong indicator that elimination is within reach – increased from 6 to 27 between 2000 and 2019. Over this same period of time, 10 of these countries were certified malaria-free by WHO.

Despite an unprecedented global health crisis, malaria-affected countries continued their march towards elimination in 2020. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, several nations successfully kept malaria at bay, putting them on track for the WHO malaria-free certification. The certification is granted when a country is able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission has been interrupted for at least 3 consecutive years.

Since 2017, a group of 21 countries with a low burden of malaria have been supported in reaching their elimination goals through the WHO “E-2020 initiative.” Ahead of World Malaria Day, WHO will publish a new report summarizing progress and lessons learned across these 21 countries. A new cohort of “E-2025” member countries will also be announced – countries with the potential to achieve zero indigenous cases of malaria by the year 2025. 

Although a growing number of countries with a low burden of malaria are moving towards elimination, the pace of progress in high burden countries has slowed. Globally, there has been only a modest reduction in malaria deaths over the last 5 years, while the annual number of cases has remained largely the same. To accelerate progress, WHO and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria launched the “High Burden to High Impact” response in 2018.

On 21 April, WHO and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria will jointly hold a virtual forum focused on the World Malaria Day elimination theme. Country leaders, frontline and community health workers, and global partners will come together to discuss their malaria elimination journeys and inspire others to reach the target of zero malaria.