World Malaria Day 2023 will be marked under the theme “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement”. Within this theme, WHO will focus on the third “i” – implement – and notably the critical importance of reaching marginalized populations with the tools and strategies that are available today.
In 2021, there have been 619 malaria deaths.
According to the latest World malaria report, countries have made some progress in expanding access to malaria services for most-at-risk populations. However, too many people at high risk of malaria are still missing out on the services they need to prevent, detect and treat the disease.
Challenges in expanding access to malaria services have been compounded, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, converging humanitarian crises, restricted funding, weak surveillance systems, and declines in the effectiveness of core malaria-fighting tools.
A number of malaria vaccines are currently in development. Like the RTS,S vaccine, many of them target the malaria parasite before it enters the human liver where it can quickly multiply. The most advanced of these candidates is R21, which recently completed Phase 3 clinical trials. Other vaccine candidates seek to stop transmission of the malaria parasite, and still others to protect women during pregnancy.