Every two minutes, a child dies from malaria, a disease caused by a single mosquito bite. Malaria is preventable and treatable, with a life-saving, insecticide-treated bed net and other malaria prevention tools and treatment. Refugees, pregnant women, and children are most vulnerable to this disease.
Malaria is transmitted to people through the bites of Anopheles mosquitoes, which primarily bite at night and carry the life-threatening disease caused by the blood parasite Plasmodium. In 2019, there were 219 million new cases of malaria worldwide and 435,000 deaths, 70% of which were children under five. Nearly half of the world's population is at risk of malaria. Most malaria cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. However, South-East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East are also at risk.
A century ago, malaria existed nearly everywhere in the world. Since then, incredible progress has been made - and the malaria map is shrinking. In fact, we're at a pivotal moment in history. With greater political commitments, sustained financial investments, and enhanced regional initiatives for malaria elimination, we can be the generation to end malaria for good.
The global malaria burden remains heavily concentrated in Africa. An estimated 80% of malaria cases and 78% of malaria deaths occur in the region. Nearly 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to an insecticide-treated bed net.
In 2015, 1.4 billion people were at risk of contracting malaria in Southeast Asia, with 1.5 million confirmed cases occurring in the region. But progress has been made: the Maldives and Sri Lanka have recently been declared malaria-free.
In 2015, 1.4 billion people were at risk of contracting malaria in Southeast Asia, with 1.5 million confirmed cases occurring in the region. But progress has been made: the Maldives and Sri Lanka have recently been declared malaria-free.
A crucial goal toward ending malaria for good is working to eliminate malaria in the Americas, where the disease lingers in certain regions due to insufficient funding, political will, or technical capacity. As the Americas work to address mosquito-borne diseases like Zika, dengue, malaria, and more, it is crucial that the U.S. help strengthen these health systems before they creep across borders.
So much progress has been made in the fight against malaria, but we still have work to do. Hover over each block to learn more.
Every 2 minutes a child dies of malaria.
50% of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria.
300 million people in Africa lack access to a bed net.
6.8 million lives have been saved from malaria since 2000.
There’s been a 62% decrease in malaria mortality rates worldwide since 2000.
More than 1 billion nets have been delivered to sub-Saharan African countries since 2000.
Insecticide-treated bed nets create a barrier against malaria-carrying mosquitoes, killing the mosquitoes before they can transmit the disease. We work with our UN partners to purchase life-saving bed nets and distribute them to families.
Our Solution© NOTHING BUT NETS 2017 • SAVE LIVES. DEFEAT MALARIA
A campaign of the 
