The fight against malaria continues to advance in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, led by the hard work of countless people like Agnes Akoth and Dismus Mwalukwanda, who head out every day to their communities with a firm belief that they can make a difference.
And their work is making a difference. Significant progress has been made against malaria over the last 15 years, with the number of people dying from malaria dropping by nearly two-thirds1.
Yet signs of resistance to existing antimalarial drugs are becoming a rising concern, putting at risk the progress made against the disease.
The scale of the malaria burden remains immense. Nearly half of the world's population is exposed to malaria, and the disease kills approximately half a million people each year, most of them children. This is still far too many for a disease that is preventable, treatable and curable.
Further progress against malaria will require continued work on multiple fronts: Increasing prevention efforts, ensuring access to existing treatments, as well as researching and developing the next generation of antimalarial medicines.
![Resistance to artemisinin has been detected in Southeast Asia. Boats on a river on border between Thailand and Burma, where resistance to artemisinin has been detected.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/resistance-to-artemisinin-image.jpg.webp?itok=PEWN6g0f)
![Mother and child with malaria symptoms wait in clinic. Burmese mother and child, who has symptoms of malaria, waiting in the Wang Pha clinic.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/mother-and-child-image.jpg.webp?itok=4yAjkwdd)
![Healthcare worker drawing blood from a child with symptoms of malaria in Southeast Asia. A healthcare worker drawing blood to verify if child’s symptoms are due to malaria.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/healthcare-worker-malaria-image.jpg.webp?itok=FmHb2vIf)
![Mother with child in malaria-endemic Sub-Saharan Africa. Mother with child in malaria-endemic Sub-Saharan Africa where effective treatment is needed.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/novartis-mother-with-child-image.jpg.webp?itok=3h0_7Gb7)
![Children playing in a malaria-endemic region of Kenya. Children playing in a malaria-endemic region of Kenya.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/standing-water-image.jpg.webp?itok=J2WZFsvA)
![Mother gives child dispersible malaria treatment. Mother gives child dispersible malaria treatment in a clinic in Kenya.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/mother-gives-medicine-image.jpg.webp?itok=_PeUoDAI)
![Healthcare worker attends to sick children in rural Kenya. Healthcare worker examines child in malaria-endemic region of rural Kenya.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/healthcare-worker-attends-image.jpg.webp?itok=piGNEW__)
![A nurse teaches children about malaria in school. Nurse Agnes Akoth teaches children about malaria in a school in Kenya.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/a-nurse-teaches-image.jpg.webp?itok=Xpa0qY_h)
![Healthcare worker uses cycle ambulance in fight against malaria in rural Zambia. Healthcare worker uses cycle ambulance in fight against malaria in rural Zambia.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/healthcare-worker-dismus-image.jpg.webp?itok=VCQ3GbSD)
![Nurse takes care of newborn in a malaria-endemic region of Kenya. Nurse takes care of newborn in a malaria-endemic region of Kenya.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-07/nurse-takes-care-image.jpg.webp?itok=vnHV9Afl)
Beating malaria will take a concerted and coordinated effort between governments, NGOs and the private sector. Only by working together can we make progress toward eliminating malaria for good.
Learn more about the Novartis Malaria Initiative, and our efforts to improve access to treatment, help communities in malaria-endemic countries deliver better healthcare and research and develop the next generation of antimalarials.
Community healthcare workers are key in the fight to #endmalaria. Here’s a collection of scenes on the ground