Communications and Social Media Toolkit
25 April 2022
The fight against malaria is one of humanity’s biggest public health successes, with the annual death rate from the disease dropping by nearly half over the last two decades.
But after years of steady progress, malaria cases and deaths are on the rise. Today, a child dies of malaria every minute.
Funding has plateaued, drug and insecticide resistance is increasing, and COVID-19 has knocked us even further off track risking a resurgence of the disease and a loss of hard-won gains.
We cannot let this decline continue. This year the world has an opportunity to fight for what counts and invest more to protect hard-won gains and get back on track to reducing malaria cases and deaths.
#WorldMalariaDay #FightForWhatCounts
Table of Contents
State of the Fight Against Malaria
Key Messages
Featured Stories
- Krayé’s Fight: Protecting His Community and Future Generations Against Malaria (Englishand Français)
- Niger: Fighting Malaria with Evidence and Innovation (English and Français)
- Vietnam: Meet Nhin Kpă, a Community Health Worker Fighting Malaria (English and Français)
Social Media Messages and Multimedia
Data Explorer
Resources:
“For too long we have accepted people dying of a treatable disease we know how to eliminate – and that we have eliminated in dozens of countries. Now we should make this happen everywhere, and in doing so reinforce our defenses against other pandemic threats.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
State of the Fight: Malaria
In countries where the Global Fund invests, malaria deaths have dropped by 26% between 2002 and 2020.
In the absence of malaria control measures, deaths would have increased by 84% in the same period.
Malaria death rates – deaths as a proportion of the population – have dropped by 47% between 2002 and 2020.
Thanks to additional financial support from the Global Fund to protect malaria programs, the robust responses from countries, and the diligence and innovation of community health workers, many malaria services were able to continue despite the disruptions created by COVID-19 in 2020. However, we did not see the same year-on-year progress as in previous years:
- The number of mosquito nets distributed in 2020 increased by 17% compared to 2019.
- The number of structures covered by indoor residual spraying in 2020 increased by 3% compared to 2019.
- The number of pregnant women who received preventive treatment for malaria in 2020 increased by 1% compared to 2019.
- The number of suspected cases tested, and cases treated for malaria in 2020 dropped slightly, by 4.3% and 0.5%, respectively, compared to 2019.
In 2020, key malaria results in countries where the Global Fund invests were:
- 188 million mosquito nets distributed to protect families from malaria.
- Coverage of population with access to a long-lasting insecticide-treated net increased from 30% in 2010 to 53% in 2019, and coverage of population using a net increased from 26% in 2010 to 46% in 2019.
- 259 million suspected cases tested for malaria in 2020.
- 135 million cases of malaria treated in 2020.
- 11.5 million pregnant women received preventive therapy in 2020.
- 9.4 million structures covered by indoor residual spraying in 2020.
“The best way to build pandemic preparedness in many of the poorest parts of the world would be to mount a significant step-up in the fight against the malaria. The capabilities needed to prepare and respond to any new pathogenic threat are largely the same as those needed to defeat malaria.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director
Key Messages
After years of steady progress, malaria cases and deaths are on the rise. Funding has plateaued, and drug and insecticide resistance are increasing, risking a resurgence of the disease and a loss of hard-won gains.
We are not on track toward achieving the goal of ending malaria as a public health threat by 2030.
The COVID-19 pandemic has knocked us even further off track. Disruptions to malaria services caused by COVID-19 led to an alarming increase in malaria deaths and cases in 2020. There were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627,000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2020. This represents about 14 million more cases in 2020 compared to 2019, and 69,000 more deaths. Approximately two-thirds of these additional deaths were linked to COVID-19 disruptions.
A child now dies of malaria every minute.
Yet it could have been worse without the rapid and determined actions that took place across the Global Fund partnership to mitigate the disruption to malaria, HIV and TB programs and fight the new pandemic. Countries averted the worst-case scenario of a potential doubling of malaria deaths that had been initially projected by WHO early in the pandemic.
We cannot let this decline continue. This year – during the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment conference hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden – the world has an opportunity to invest more to protect our hard-won gains and get back on track to reducing malaria cases and deaths.
For the Seventh Replenishment, the Global Fund needs at least US$18 billion to fight HIV, TB and malaria and build stronger systems for health, and thus reinforce pandemic preparedness.
At least US$18 billion would:
- Save 20 million lives;
- Cut the death rate from HIV, TB and malaria by 64%;
- Strengthen systems for health to build a healthier, more equitable world.
In the fight against malaria, a successful Replenishment would (by 2026):
- Cut malaria deaths by 62%;
- Reduce malaria cases by 66%;
- Eliminate malaria from an additional six countries.
“We have proven that with science, adequate resources and effective global collaboration, we can force even the deadliest diseases into retreat.”
Fight For What Counts: Global Fund Seventh Replenishment Investment Case 2022
Krayé’s Fight: Protecting His Community and Future Generations Against Malaria
“I know we are moving towards malaria eradication in this village. There is still progress to be made, but lives have been saved.”
Krayé Agenor is the Village Chief in Ménékré, Côte d’Ivoire, an important role that holds the great responsibility to protect the well-being of each resident and the community.
As Village Chief, Krayé has transformed the community’s response to malaria and empowered community health workers to bring malaria prevention, testing and treatment to the people living in Ménékré.
Tweet: “I know we are moving towards malaria eradication in this village.” Meet Krayé Agenor, the Village Chief in Ménékré, Côte d’Ivoire. As a guide and leader, he is protecting his community & future generations from #malaria. https://tinyurl.com/yc489p2s #FightForWhatCounts #WorldMalariaDay
Niger: Fighting Malaria with Evidence and Innovation
More than 80% of malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa are in children under age five. The most effective tools to protect children from malaria are long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets and seasonal malaria chemoprevention.
However, growing resistance to the insecticides used to treat the nets, seasonal transmission that differs across regions, and ongoing insecurity make fighting malaria in Niger particularly complex.
To address these challenges, the Global Fund is working in partnership with the Government of Niger, Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), WHO and others, to invest in a mix of interventions
Tweet: In Niger, insecticide-resistance and seasonal transmission are making the fight to defeat malaria even more difficult. @GlobalFund is working with partners to innovate and adapt to ensure families are protected. https://tinyurl.com/49zexjpy #FightForWhatCounts #WorldMalariaDay
Meet Nhin Kpă, a Community Health Worker Fighting Malaria in Vietnam
Nhin Kpă is a community health worker who travels by motorbike to provide essential health services to people living in a remote region of Vietnam who are at high risk of malaria.
When COVID-19 hit, health workers like Nhin took on an even larger role, sharing information about the new pandemic, providing masks and hand sanitizer, and giving out much-needed food packages to families.
As part of a Community Malaria Action Team, Nhin and his fellow community health workers are the first to recognize and respond to disease outbreaks, and provide protection against future health threats.
Tweet: Nhin Kpă is a community health worker who travels by motorbike to bring health services to people in a remote region of Vietnam. As part of a Community Malaria Action Team, Nhin is on the frontlines in the #FightForWhatCounts. #WorldMalariaDay http://ow.ly/3JYT50HVzoc
Multimedia Content and Social Media Messages
Multimedia Content
Social Media Messages
Today is #WorldMalariaDay. While the world has made incredible progress in the fight to defeat malaria, a child still dies of malaria every minute. Now is the time to #FightForWhatCounts to #BeatMalaria.
After years of progress, malaria cases and deaths are on the rise. Funding has plateaued, and drug and insecticide resistance is increasing, risking the loss of hard-won gains. Unacceptable! Now is the time to #FightForWhatCounts to defeat malaria. #WorldMalariaDay
Malaria has shown that we must stay ahead of it to eliminate it. The @GlobalFund provides over half of the world’s international financing for malaria programs and is investing in tools, partnerships, and innovations to accelerate the fight to #BeatMalaria. #WorldMalariaDay
Malaria is among the world’s deadliest diseases, but we have the tools and knowledge to beat it. Despite the challenges of #COVID19, we must commit to working even harder to #EndMalaria. #WorldMalariaDay
This year, @GlobalFund is calling on the world to #FightForWhatCounts and raise at least $18 billion to fight the world’s deadliest pandemics. Reaching this target would…
- Cut malaria deaths by 62%
- Reduce malaria cases by 66%
- Eliminate malaria from 6 more countries
*By 2026
Data Explorer
Explore data on investments and results in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world.
The Global Fund invests in smart, effective health programs to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. The Data Explorer visualizes where our investments come from, where they are and what they achieve by providing pledge and contribution data, grant financial data, and results data at global, regional and country levels.