(MENAFN) The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday that the expanded deployment of innovative malaria interventions—including dual-ingredient mosquito nets and WHO-endorsed vaccines—helped avert an estimated 170 million cases and 1 million deaths in 2024.

According to reports, these WHO-recommended tools are increasingly being integrated into national healthcare systems. Since the approval of the first malaria vaccines in 2021, 24 countries have incorporated them into routine immunization schedules, as highlighted in the organization’s annual World Malaria Report.

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention has also seen significant growth, reaching 54 million children in 2024, compared with roughly 0.2 million in 2012.

Progress toward malaria elimination has continued steadily, with 47 countries and one territory officially recognized as malaria-free. Cabo Verde and Egypt received certification in 2024, while Georgia, Suriname, and Timor-Leste followed in 2025.

Despite these advances, the report estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 deaths globally in 2024, representing an increase of about 9 million cases from the previous year. Approximately 95% of fatalities occurred in the WHO African Region, primarily among children under five years old.

"New tools for prevention of malaria are giving us new hope, but we still face significant challenges," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"Increasing numbers of cases and deaths, the growing threat of drug resistance, and the impact of funding cuts all threaten to roll back the progress we have made over the past two decades. However, none of these challenges is insurmountable."

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