Malaria hotspots shifting in Tanzania, study shows

📊 MALARIA: Cutting funds puts millions in Africa at risk Without sustained support, Africa could face a resurgence of malaria cases 🦟📈. A recent study on The Lancet shows that the US President's Malaria Initiative interventions could prevent 13.6 million cases and 104,000 deaths in 2025 alone. 🌍💉 However, with uncertainty in its future operations and funding, researchers caution that this could reverse decades of progress in the fight against malaria. ⏳⚠️ To stay on track, sustained investment in malaria control is essential, according to Dr. Punam Amratia and Dr. Susan Rumisha from the Ifakara Health Institute, along with colleagues from Curtin University, The University of Western Australia, and the University of Melbourne. 🏥🔬 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/er2dxgNp #IFAKARANews #EndMalaria #GlobalHealth

The University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI) announced a new partnership with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea on the sidelines of #UNGA80. UCMI will use its expertise in developing advanced malaria control tools and strategies to support the country’s malaria elimination goals. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/em62_Yw6 Watch the video ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eSKV5nyn University of Oxford, Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Tsinghua University, MCD Global Health 📷 : UCMI

A new report from Malaria No More and Oxford Economics Africa titled 'The Economic Impact of US Funding for Malaria', shows how investment in malaria control delivers both health and economic returns. • 646 million malaria cases prevented since 2003 through prevention and treatment programmes • $90.3 billion added to GDP in malaria-endemic countries • Every $1 invested generates nearly $6 in economic benefits Funding has supported widespread delivery of insecticide-treated nets, with over 10 million distributed in Mali in 2023 and millions more across Africa. Nets remain one of the most effective tools for protecting communities and reducing malaria transmission. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/dPytrXQz

In science, progress is fragile — and resistance is real. In malaria research, two forms of resistance worry us most: 🔹 Drug resistance – parasites adapting to frontline medicines like Artemisinin. 🔹 Insecticide resistance – mosquitoes evolving against bed nets and sprays. For Africa, this is more than a scientific challenge. It means: ⚠️ Longer treatments ⚠️ Higher costs of care ⚠️ More pressure on health systems But there is hope. Through better diagnostics, continuous surveillance, new tools, and stronger laboratory capacity, we can stay ahead of resistance and protect the gains made in malaria control. 🌍 The fight against malaria doesn’t stop with treatment — it evolves with science. 👉 Colleagues, what innovations do you see as game changers in tackling malaria resistance? #Malaria #GlobalHealth #DrugResistance #InsecticideResistance #LaboratoryScience #ClinicalTrials

Suriname: first malaria-free country in the Amazon region 2025 "On June 30, 2025, WHO certified Suriname malaria free, after 3 consecutive years of proven interruption of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes. The country recorded the last cases of locally transmitted Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 2018 and of Plasmodium vivax malaria in 2021. Situated in the northeastern coast of South America and with a population of over 0⋅6 million, Suriname is the first country in the Amazon region, 12th country in the WHO Region of the Americas, and 46th country globally to receive WHO’s malaria-free certification." Source: Lancet Microbe 2025 Published Online https://lnkd.in/e6WwfpDv

🌟US Malaria Alert: First Local Cases in 20 Years🌟 After two decades with no locally transmitted malaria, the US reported 10 cases across Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and Maryland in 2023. All patients recovered after treatment, but the CDC warns that increased international travel, persistent mosquito populations, and rising temperatures may be elevating transmission risks. Healthcare providers should remain vigilant, travelers to malaria-endemic regions must complete preventive medications, and prompt diagnosis is critical. While malaria re-establishment remains unlikely, these cases underscore the need for continued surveillance and global malaria control efforts to reduce imported cases that could spark local transmission. #EndMalaria #GlobalHealth

'These findings emphasize the necessity for targeted, region-specific interventions and resistance management strategies to effectively address the growing challenge of insecticide resistance. Sustaining malaria control in Kenya will require continued surveillance of resistance markers, diversification of insecticide-based tools, and the development of innovative approaches to mitigate the impact of metabolic resistance mechanisms.' https://lnkd.in/gtiKUUTa

The article “The Road to Malaria Elimination: Why a Robust Surveillance System is Imperative” was published in The Lancet Global Health (September 2025). This is a short explainer prepared by Dr. Shrirang Pathak, Medical Officer at SEARCH. Key Highlights: 1. The article underscores the need for strong surveillance to achieve and sustain malaria elimination. While major progress has been made in reducing cases and deaths, momentum has slowed since 2016 due to resistance, urban transmission, climate change, and conflict. 2. Elimination remains achievable—as demonstrated by countries with WHO certification—but requires fine-scale surveillance to detect uneven transmission and hotspots. Certification further demands proof of three years without local transmission, the ability to distinguish imported from local cases, and rapid response readiness. 3. The article introduces the Freedom from Infection (FFI) framework, a Bayesian tool that quantifies surveillance sensitivity and the probability of being malaria-free. Evidence shows that combining passive detection with active and community-based case finding significantly increases confidence in elimination. This data-driven approach provides stronger guidance for policy, tailored interventions, and long-term malaria control. Dr Shrirang Pathak #Malaria #PublicHealth #Research

🦟 I recently had the opportunity to present at the Intra-Organizational Knowledge Club Weekly Meet, on the strategies for malaria elimination, especially timely as the Malaria Mukt Gadchiroli Abhiyan begins to take shape in our district.✨ 🌍 From a Global point of view, malaria control has made historic gains, but since 2016–17, progress has slowed, challenged by insecticide resistance, urban malaria, climate variability, and conflict. These realities remind us that medicines and nets alone will not take us to elimination. The decisive factor will be the strength of our surveillance systems: their ability to detect, confirm, and sustain malaria freedom over time. 🔬 A recent Lancet Global Health commentary highlighted the Freedom From Infection (FFI) framework, a Bayesian approach that quantifies surveillance sensitivity and the probability that an area is truly malaria-free. What fascinated me was the evidence that adding active case detection and community case management to routine surveillance can almost double our certainty of elimination. This transforms surveillance into not just data collection, but a rigorous assurance of malaria freedom. 🏞 For Gadchiroli, this is more than theory. Transmission here is uneven, some villages with low burden, while others remain hotspots. By applying such frameworks, we can map this heterogeneity, tailor interventions village by village, and allocate resources with precision. Embedding these methods into digital health platforms, alongside capacity strengthening, will be key to making elimination a lasting reality. 💭 For me, the reflection is clear: malaria elimination is not only about reaching zero today, but about building resilient systems that prevent its return tomorrow. In Gadchiroli, science and community effort must move hand in hand if we are to secure a malaria-free future for the next generation. #Malaria #MalariaElimination #MalariaResearch #GlobalHealth #PublicHealth #SEARCHGadchiroli #MalariaMuktGadchiroli #CommunityHealth #Surveillance #ICMR #NIMRICMR #NCVBDC #NVBDCP #NRHM #MoHFW

Strengthening Malaria Diagnosis Capacity We’ve just finished setting up our training room for the upcoming WHO External Competency Assessment of Malaria Microscopists (ECAMM) — an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to improving diagnostic standards in Papua New Guinea. Accurate and timely malaria diagnosis is vital to saving lives and strengthening public health systems. Through ECAMM, laboratory professionals will undergo intensive training and assessment to enhance their skills in parasite detection, species identification, and parasite quantification, all benchmarked against WHO international standards. For us, this is more than just a training event. It’s an investment in building a stronger workforce capable of delivering high-quality, reliable results that directly impact patient outcomes and disease surveillance. By empowering our laboratory teams with these critical competencies, we’re supporting the broader fight against malaria in Papua New Guinea and beyond. #Malaria #ECAMM #WHO #InternationalSOS #PublicHealth #LaboratoryTraining #PapuaNewGuinea #Diagnostics #CapacityBuilding