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World Malaria Day, which takes place on 25 April each year, is an internationally recognized day, highlighting the global efforts to control malaria and celebrating the gains that have been made. Since 2000, the world has made historic progress against malaria, saving millions of lives. However, half the world still lives at risk from this preventable, treatable disease, which costs a child’s life every two minutes.

On World Malaria Day we mark successes in the fight against malaria, highlight the responsibility we all have to end malaria within a generation and urge leaders to step up the fight and get us closer to a malaria-free world. This year COVID-19 is threatening that progress and now more than ever we need to call on leaders to act.

Over the past two decades we’ve made great progress in the malaria fight, saving more than 7 million lives and preventing over 1 billion malaria cases. However, as long as malaria exists, it threatens the poorest and most vulnerable, and has the potential to resurge in times of public health crises – like the threat of COVID-19 the one facing us now.

As the world grapples with COVID-19, this World Malaria Day will also highlight the importance of maintaining robust health systems to prevent existing diseases like malaria, alongside emerging ones. COVID-19 is straining national health systems and challenging families, communities and countries. By holding leaders and ourselves accountable to their commitments to end malaria, we will continue strengthening resilient health and surveillance systems to help us respond to emerging diseases while also protecting and advancing hard-fought progress against malaria, a long-standing deadly and dangerous foe.

The theme of World Malaria Day 2020 — Zero Malaria Starts with Me — is a movement dedicated to driving action and making change, and this starts with YOU! Get your leaders to take action using the resources available here.

WMD 2020

Global malaria partnership urges countries to act during ‘window of opportunity’ to save lives from malaria and COVID-19

Geneva, 23rd April 2020 – Ahead of World Malaria Day on 25th April, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria is calling on countries to act now to save almost 400,000 additional lives from malaria as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. The RBM Partnership to End Malaria, along with global and...Find out more

Events

World Malaria Day: event in Somalia

World Malaria Day 2020: Assam, India

Paludisme et pandémie de COVID-19, une association à haut risque pour l’Afrique

World Malaria Day 2020: Sierra Leone

World Malaria Day webinar - Association Santé en Entreprise (SEE)

World Malaria Day Twitter Chat

Sustaining Malaria Intervention Amid COVID-19: World Malaria Day Webinar

What impact could COVID-19 have on Malaria?

CS4ME WEBINAR for civil society on the eve of World Malaria Day

Free virtual panel discussion “The Malaria Endgame” from Keystone Symposia

What is Malaria?

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Malaria is a preventable and treatable infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes that kills more than 400,000 people each year.

Take Action

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Whether you are an organisation or an individual, join us and take action this World Malaria Day.

Resources

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All the information, resources and guidance to support World Malaria Day activities.

To find more information about the World Malaria Day celebrations which took place in previous years please visit:

World Malaria Day 2019

World Malaria Day 2018