Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported a 10 percent reduction in malaria incidence in Pakistan in 2025 compared to 2024, but noted that the country still recorded 1.8 million cases as it has yet to fully recover from the surge triggered by the climate-driven floods of 2022. The figures, shared by WHO on World Malaria Day, called on all partners to intensify efforts to prevent a resurgence of the disease in Pakistan, while stressing that, for the first time, ending malaria within our lifetime is possible. WHO stated that prior to the devastating floods of August 2022, Pakistan had reported 399,097 confirmed malaria infections in 2021. However, following the floods, the number surged to a peak of 2.7 million cases in 2023. The global health body warned that progress remains at risk due to factors such as climate change, a massive global funding gap of US$5.4 billion, and recent cuts in global health aid, which have disrupted health systems, surveillance, and disease control campaigns. It noted that these challenges demonstrate how quickly hard-won gains can be reversed. As part of World Malaria Day observances, WHO and its partners launched a global campaign under the theme “Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must.” The campaign aims to mobilize support to protect lives now and secure funding for a malaria-free future. “With the tools and resources available today, together we have the historic opportunity to offer a malaria-free world to our children and grandchildren. WHO stands with Pakistan to continue strengthening the response, providing science-based technical support to build a future where no family loses a loved one to malaria,” the organization stated. In April 2026, WHO supported a country-led malaria programme review that visited health facilities across various provinces. The review aimed to gather evidence and lessons to further strengthen prevention, surveillance, case management, evidence-based vector control, data systems, and outbreak preparedness at both federal and provincial levels. In 2025, Pakistan screened around 16.9 million suspected malaria cases and provided free treatment to most of the nearly 1.8 million confirmed patients in collaboration with WHO, development partners, the private sector, and civil society, with financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Approximately 12 million mosquito nets were distributed across Pakistan during the three-year period from 2023 to 2025. In addition, community-based case management has recently been introduced and is showing strong potential for reaching remote and underserved communities. In Pakistan, malaria transmission continues mainly in Balochistan, rural Sindh, and some districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Globally, since 2000, an estimated 2.3 billion malaria cases and 14 million deaths have been averted through advances in medical science and coordinated international and country-led efforts. To date, 47 countries have been certified malaria-free, including two in 2024 and three in 2025, while 37 countries reported fewer than 1,000 cases in 2024. WHO experts believe malaria eradication is now within reach, particularly due to advances in vaccines, treatments, malaria-control tools, and pioneering technologies such as genetically modified mosquitoes and long-acting injectable medicines. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Go to News Site