- New UK programme with the RBM Partnership to End Malaria will boost global efforts to end malaria epidemic, stimulate growth and protect women and girls.
- Global progress has stalled in recent years with the climate crisis increasing threats posed by malaria.
- Fresh support will galvanise global leaders in the fight against malaria, combat resistance to drugs and insecticides, and assist four countries in Africa to tackle the disease.
- Follows the rollout of two malaria vaccines, developed with British scientific expertise.
Efforts to tackle malaria have today received a boost from the UK government, with a new £5 million programme with the RBM Partnership to End Malaria (RBM) set to renew the push to end the epidemic by 2030.
The announcement follows the launch of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s World Malaria Report 2024, which shows that malaria remains a serious global health challenge with a rise in cases in 2023.
The UK’s new partnership will support RBM as it galvanises global leaders in the fight against malaria. This includes tackling resistance to malaria treatments and supporting efforts to control malaria in four countries: Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.
Tackling malaria will also help unlock growth in the Global South. Analysis shows reducing malaria cases by 90% by 2030 could boost GDP by over $142 billion in malaria-endemic countries.
Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds said:
The climate crisis is hindering efforts to end malaria as extreme weather events, such as flooding, increase the risk of outbreaks and warming temperatures change patterns of transmission.
The UK’s partnership with RBM solidifies the UK as a key partner in global efforts to end malaria. The UK is also a leading supporter to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and supports research into new tools to prevent and treat malaria.
British scientists helped develop two malaria vaccines which have the potential to save millions of lives. With UK support, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance are helping to roll out the new vaccines in up to 25 countries by 2025, including in Nigeria last week (2 December). This week, Minister Dodds is in Malawi, one of three countries where the RTS,S vaccine was shown to reduce child mortality by 13%. A third vaccine, which targets the disease at a later stage of infection, is being tested by British scientists at the University of Oxford.
Notes for editors:
- UK support to Gavi (£1.65 billion from 2021-2025) is helping Gavi to vaccinate 300 million children by 2025, including through supporting the rollout of malaria and mpox vaccines.
- UK support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (£1 billion from 2023-2025) is supporting the distribution of 86 million mosquito nets, providing 452,000 courses of malaria prevention treatments, and providing treatment and care for 18 million people affected by malaria.
- The UK also supports critical research to develop new treatments and tools to prevent malaria. This includes a recent £10m funding call with the UK Medical Research Council to support research on the implementation of malaria vaccines.
- In November, the UK pledged up to £310m in core voluntary contributions to support the WHO’s core work for the next four years (2025–2028). WHO leads the global effort to end malaria including by providing technical support to endemic countries for malaria control and elimination programmes.
