ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organisation (WHO) called on all partners to intensify the response to prevent resurgence in Pakistan, stressing that, for the first time, ending malaria within a lifetime has become possible.

In 2025, Pakistan reduced malaria incidence by 10pc compared to 2024, but it still reported 1.8 million cases, as the country has not yet recovered from the surge triggered by the 2022 climate-driven floods.

Progress is at risk due to factors such as climate change, a massive global funding gap of $5.4 billion, and recent cuts in global health aid, which have disrupted health systems, surveillance and campaigns, demonstrating how quickly hard-fought gains can be reversed.

As part of World Malaria Day, WHO and its partners have launched a global campaign to seize the opportunity to protect lives now and fund a malaria-free future, under the theme “Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must.”

Cases decreased by 10pc in 2025 compared to 2024 in Pakistan, but still there were 1.8 million reported cases

“With the tools and resources available today, together we have the historic opportunity to offer a malaria-free world to our children and our grandchildren,” a statement issued by WHO said.

In April 2026, WHO supported a country-led malaria programme review that visited health facilities across different provinces. The goal was to collect evidence and lessons learned to continue reinforcing prevention, surveillance, case management, evidence-based vector control, data systems, and outbreak preparedness at the federal and provincial levels.

In 2025, Pakistan screened about 16.9 million suspected cases and provided free treatment to most of the nearly 1.8 million confirmed patients in collaboration with WHO, partners, the private sector and civil society, with funding support from the Global Fund to defeat AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

Approximately 12 million nets to prevent mosquito bites were distributed in Pakistan over a three-year period from 2023 to 2025. In addition, community-based case management has recently been adopted and shows strong potential for hard-to-reach communities.

In Pakistan, malaria transmission persists mainly in Balochistan, rural Sindh and some districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

WHO experts consider that eradicating malaria is within reach, particularly due to advances in medical science and the development of new vaccines, treatments, malaria control tools and pioneering technologies, including genetic modification of mosquitoes and long-acting injectables.

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) stated: “Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. While P. falciparum is the deadliest, P. vivax remains the dominant parasite in Pakistan.”

Symptoms typically appear within 10–15 days and include fever, chills and headache. If left untreated, infections can progress to severe complications such as impaired consciousness, respiratory distress and jaundice.

PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said the government should ensure the availability of WHO-recommended vaccines and a consistent supply of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) at all basic health units (BHUs) and rural health centres (RHCs).

“We are at a crossroads in 2026,” the PMA leadership said. The tools to defeat malaria exist, but they are useless if they do not reach patients in the furthest corners of our provinces, they said.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2026