Malaria killed around 610,000 people in 2024, mostly young children in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, warning of the risks of rising drug resistance, climate change and funding cuts.

The toll was a slight increase from the number of deaths in 2023, and case numbers also went up, from 273 million to an estimated 282 million, according to the WHO’s annual malaria report.

After vast progress in the early 2000s, the fight against malaria has been stalling in the last decade. While 47 countries have been certified as malaria-free, others are seeing a jump in cases – in 2024, particularly Ethiopia, Madagascar and Yemen.

RISK OF RESURGENCE

“Too many people are still dying from a preventable and curable disease,” said Daniel Ngamije Madandi, director of the

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