National Malaria Scientific Conference and Six-Month Performance Review Successfully Conducted from February 18–19, 2025

The Ministry of Health’s National Malaria and Other Vector-Borne Diseases Prevention and Control Program successfully hosted a National Malaria Scientific Conference from February 18–19, 2025, at the Adwa Museum in Addis Ababa to address the ongoing malaria surge. The event featured the presentation of various scientific research papers, panel discussions, and expert deliberations on malaria control strategies.

Following the conference, a six-month performance review was conducted in Adama from February 20–22, 2025. Participants included representatives from the National Malaria and Other Vector-Borne Diseases Program, government agencies, and regional health bureaus, along with key partners.

Key Findings on Malaria Trends

The performance review highlighted critical malaria prevention and control data for the first six months, underscoring the growing burden of the disease:

• Globally, malaria cases increased from 233 million in 2019 to 263 million in 2023.
• In 2022, 94% of all malaria cases (233 million) and 95% of malaria-related deaths (608,000) occurred in the WHO African Region.
• According to the national DHIS2 report, malaria cases in Ethiopia surged from 4,068,764 in 2010 to 9,781,723 in 2024.
• The slide positivity rate increased from 28.5% in 2015 (EFY) to 42.3% in 2017 (EFY).
• The malaria mortality rate rose from 0.92 in 2017 to 0.96 in 2024 (national DHIS2 report).
• The estimated total number of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) needed is 15,260,272, while only 10,232,098 are available, indicating a gap of 5,028,178.

Strategic Approaches to Malaria Reduction

To combat the surge in malaria cases, the program is implementing a targeted response strategy based on malaria transmission strata:

• Burden Reduction for high and moderate transmission areas.
• Interruption of Residual Transmission for low and very low transmission areas.
• Prevention of Reintroduction for malaria-free zones.

Challenges and Considerations

The review also identified key challenges affecting malaria control efforts, including:

• High resource demands, particularly budget constraints for malaria response.
• USAID/PMI Stop Work considerations, impacting program support.
• Procurement difficulties, affecting the timely distribution of malaria prevention tools.
• Operational efficiency concerns, limiting intervention effectiveness.
• Security challenges, hindering access to malaria-endemic areas.