Vector control

Vector control is a highly effective way to reduce malaria transmission and is a vital component of malaria control and elimination strategies. WHO currently recommends deployment of either insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) or indoor residual spraying (IRS) for malaria vector control in most areas at risk of malaria. Depending on the setting and available resources, these 2 interventions may be supplemented by additional interventions such as larviciding.

To date, more than 3 billion ITNs have been delivered to malaria-endemic countries, and this rapid scale-up has been by far the largest contributor to the impressive drops seen in malaria incidence since the turn of the century. From 2000 through 2020, the percentage of the entire at-risk population sleeping under an ITN increased from 2% to 52%.  

Malaria vector control requires periodic collection and interpretation of data on local vector species, the potential invasion by vectors from other geographical areas, their susceptibility to insecticides and vector and human behaviours. Ongoing monitoring of the coverage, usage, quality and durability of vector-control interventions is also vital.

The fragile gains that have been made in malaria control are threatened by the spread of resistance to insecticides among Anopheles mosquitoes. Unchecked, insecticide resistance could lead to a substantial increase in malaria incidence and mortality. Urgent action is needed to mitigate and manage insecticide resistance, and to find solutions to control outdoor biting mosquito populations. Most importantly this requires innovation to develop new tools, technologies and approaches for vector control, and the rigorous evaluation of these tools singly and in combination to establish their potential role as part of a comprehensive malaria control strategy.

The WHO Guidelines for malaria bring together all current WHO recommendations on malaria in one easy-to-navigate web-based platform. They are a living resource that will be updated periodically as new evidence becomes available. The Guidelines are currently available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.