[1] The World Health Organization estimates that malaria killed 610,000 (561,000–738,000) people in 2024. World Malaria Report 2025, p. 8, Table 2.1.
About 95% of malaria deaths are in the WHO African Region, where "Children under 5 years of age accounted for about 75% of all malaria deaths." WHO, Malaria fact sheet, December 2025. So at least 70% of malaria deaths worldwide are children under five (95% x 75% = 71%).
[2] For additional assessment of the evidence, see our intervention reports on insecticide-treated nets and seasonal malaria chemoprevention.
[3] "Malaria RDTs detect specific antigens (proteins) produced by malaria parasites that are present in the blood of infected individuals." WHO, Rapid diagnostic tests (accessed October 22, 2026).
We estimate that rapid diagnostic tests cost about $0.26 to $0.30 per person reached in our July 2025 emergency procurement grant to CHAI in Nigeria. This is based on CHAI's costs of procuring, shipping and storing the tests, adjusted for potential wastage. See the cost-effectiveness section of our grant page.
- "ACTs are the most effective and widely recommended treatment for uncomplicated malaria, especially for infections caused by P. falciparum, the parasite responsible for most malaria deaths in Africa." WHO, World malaria report 2025, p.13.
- "In comparison with quinine, parenteral artesunate … reduced mortality from severe malaria by about 25% in children (RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.65 - 0.90, four trials, 5765 participants, high-quality evidence)." WHO, WHO guidelines for malaria, 10 September 2026, p. 217.
- For example, in 2024, 54% of people in sub-Saharan Africa had access to an insecticide-treated net within their household, little changed from 53% in 2015. Access assumes one net covers two people (p. 71). For chemoprevention, 45% of pregnant women and girls received the recommended three or more doses of preventive treatment, "well below the target of 80%" (p. 78 to 79). For vaccines, 17 countries had introduced a malaria vaccine by the end of 2024 (p. 84). WHO, World malaria report 2025.
- For treatment, across 21 sub-Saharan African countries, "Of the children who reached a health service provider and received an antimalarial drug, a median of 68% were treated with an ACT in the period 2017–2024." WHO, World malaria report 2025: Executive summary, 2025, p. 13.
[6] The World Health Organization estimates that “Over the 2010–2024 period, governments of endemic countries contributed roughly 33% of total malaria funding” WHO, World Malaria Report 2025, p. 62.
[7] Donors pledged a final total of US$12.64 billion to the Global Fund's Eighth Replenishment, which covers 2027-2029. Global Fund, February 18, 2026.
The Seventh Replenishment raised a final total of US$15.7 billion. Global Fund, November 18, 2022.
The Global Fund had estimated that it needed US$18 billion for 2027-2029. Global Fund, Eighth Replenishment Investment Case, September 16, 2026.
[8] The Global Fund allocated US$10.783 billion to countries for Grant Cycle 8 (2026-2028), including US$3.540 billion for malaria. Global Fund, Grant Cycle 8: Allocation and catalytic investments, 2026, pp. 4 and 6.
In the 2023-2025 cycle, malaria received US$4.17 billion of US$13.13 billion in country allocations. Global Fund, Overview of the 2023-2025 allocations, 2023, p. 2, Figure 1. That makes the new allocation about 15% smaller (3.540 / 4.17 = 0.85).
[9] “World leaders pledged support for Gavi, the vaccine alliance, leading to a total of more than US$9 billion secured against a targeted US$ 11.9 billion budget for its next five-year strategic period from 2026 to 2030.” Gavi, "World leaders recommit to immunisation amid global funding shortfall," 2025.
Gavi's malaria program faces a budget shortfall of nearly 30%, which has led it to scale back its support. WHO Regional Office for Africa, "Africa's routine vaccine systems deliver gains against cancer and malaria, but funding pressures loom," 2026.
For 2026-2030, Gavi caps its support for malaria vaccines at up to 70% of the population in moderate to high-transmission areas, down from a cap of 85% set in June 2024. Countries already above 70% will see their support reduced over 2027 and 2028. Gavi, Annex C: Malaria vaccine programme update, report to the Board, July 2026, p. 1.
[10] According to Against Malaria Foundation (AMF), chlorfenapyr nets (a type of dual-ingredient net) cost $2.80 each, compared to $1.96 for a pyrethroid-piperonyl butoxide (PBO) net. See footnote 3 in this section of our June 2024 grant page for AMF's campaigns in DRC.
[11] By program, we mean the health interventions and the way that they are delivered.
[12] The list in the main text is not exhaustive, but it covers areas where we’re most confident we’ll find programs that are both cost-effective and have significant funding gaps. There are two further groups of programs we might fund, depending on what we learn about their cost-effectiveness and funding needs.
- Programs where we expect to find funding gaps but are uncertain about cost-effectiveness. These include indoor residual spraying, chemoprevention campaigns using ACTs such as dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, perennial malaria chemoprevention using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine alone, interventions to improve housing, or mass vaccination campaigns targeting older ages. We expect to do additional research on these programs to address our uncertainties.
- Programs we think are likely above our cost-effectiveness bar in some or all contexts, but where we’re unsure there are substantial funding gaps. These include facility-based case management, intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp), and post discharge malaria chemoprevention (PDMC). We expect to do additional work to understand funding gaps for these areas.
[13] MIA’s contribution is in line with the Global Fund's policy on restricted financial contributions, which allows private donors, but not government aid (ODA) contributions, to restrict how their funds are used
[14] Note this would likely include funding for health and community systems investments that support malaria programming.
[15] Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) are the in-country groups, typically made up of government officials, civil society organizations, affected communities, and donors, that put together a country’s Global Fund application and monitor grants once they are awarded.
[16] Approved funding would go through the Global Fund to the government agencies and nonprofits that run programs.
[17] The Global Fund disbursed roughly US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion a year to malaria grants in 2016-2025. See the line chart in the Disbursements section of the Global Fund’s financial insights page (accessed October 22, 2026).
[18] A report we commissioned from Rethink Priorities found that "National routine surveillance systems in high-transmission countries have challenges at all stages of the malaria routine data flow in terms of coverage, completeness, and accuracy." For example, "some facilities do not report any data, some facilities miss certain months or certain data elements." Kudymowa, van Schoubroeck, Leow and Basnak, Rethink Priorities, "Data systems for malaria burden estimation: Challenges, initiatives, and opportunities," 2025.
[19] For example, standard Demographic and Health Surveys "typically are conducted about every 5 years." Though there are shorter, interim DHS surveys in-between. The DHS Program, "Demographic and Health Survey (DHS)", accessed 15 October 2026.
[20] Since 2020, only 15 African countries have reported data from therapeutic efficacy studies (TES), which test how well malaria treatments work, "leaving gaps in understanding the geographical extent and intensity of resistance" World Health Organization, World malaria report 2025, p. 114.
WHO's regional profiles show, for each insecticide class, how many countries did not monitor insecticide resistance in 2020 to 2024 (Annex 3, pp. 150, 154, 158 and 162). For example, in West Africa, 9 of 15 countries did not monitor resistance to carbamates, 5 did not monitor neonicotinoids, 4 did not monitor organophosphates, and 2 did not monitor pyrethroids. World Health Organization, World malaria report 2025, Annex 3, p. 150, "Status of insecticide resistance per insecticide class (2020-2024)".
Resistance to pyrethroids, the main insecticide used in nets, has been confirmed in 48 of the 53 countries that reported on it. World Health Organization, World malaria report 2025, p. 94.