Malaria Progress at a Crossroads: The Data Is Clear, We Cannot Slow Down Now

Over US$11 billion was pledged at the eighth Replenishment Summit of the Global Fund at the end of November – including a US$4.6 billion commitment from the United States, which is maintaining its 2:1 matching ratio. In a year where global health budgets are under pressure, this is not just a financial signal. It’s a strong vote of confidence that ending malaria is still possible if we stay the course.

New data from the independent Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) shows why this funding – and what we do with it – matters more than ever.

25 years of progress and what’s at stake‍

According to MAP’s latest analysis, malaria control efforts over the last 25 years have:

• Averted 1.22 billion cases of malaria

• Prevented 3.5 million deaths

In 2024 alone, an estimated 134 million cases were averted, the highest annual number yet. That’s an enormous return on global investment in proven tools and programs. But the data also carries a warning that recent progress has slowed, and we now know one of the main reasons why.

Insecticide-treated nets still doing the heavy lifting

MAP estimates that insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are responsible for 1.13 billion of the 1.22 billion cases averted – around 72% of the total impact. That’s a staggering share of the progress we’ve made.

Two key points stand out:

• Vector control remains central. ITNs are still one of the most cost-effective tools we have to prevent malaria infection.

• Innovation is paying off. The introduction and scale-up of new-generation ITNs between 2018 and 2024 have already prevented an additional 39.3 million cases, helping to counteract the loss of effectiveness from pyrethroid resistance.

This is exactly the space where Landcent can make a decisive difference: making sure the nets people receive are not only available, but effective against evolving mosquito populations.

The plateau problem – coverage has stalled

Perhaps the most concerning insight from MAP is this: it isn’t that our tools have stopped working – it’s that coverage has plateaued.

MAP identifies stalled ITN coverage rates as a key driver of stalled progress in recent years. We know what works, but we’re not getting it to enough people consistently. Many programs aim for at least 80% ITN coverage in at-risk populations. The MAP report suggests that if this 80% target had been achieved by 2024, malaria transmission could have fallen to around 13.7% of current levels. That’s a huge, missed opportunity and a powerful motivator to do better.

Why ITNs and vaccines are partners, not competitors

Another important insight is that vaccines become more effective as transmission drops. That means vector control tools like ITNs are not just saving lives today, they’re laying the groundwork for vaccines to “finish the job” tomorrow.

In other words, expanding ITN coverage is not optional if we want vaccines to reach their full potential. The path to malaria elimination is not “nets or vaccines,” but “nets and vaccines,” supported by strong health systems and sustained investments.

Landcent’s role in sustaining and scaling impact

For Landcent, this moment is both a responsibility and an opportunity. With ITNs responsible for the majority of malaria cases averted, Landcent’s work centres on developing high-quality, long-lasting, resistance-conscious vector control tools that support the backbone of global malaria control. The focus extends beyond performance on paper to how products are intended to behave in reality – their durability, usability, affordability and reliability in challenging field conditions – so that every distributed net can meaningfully contribute to coverage targets. In the context of renewed global commitments, Landcent remains focused on advancing solutions that are aligned with programme needs and can, over time, support efforts to sustain and expand effective ITN coverage to communities that need them most.

Reigniting progress, not just preserving it

The latest Global Fund pledges and the MAP evidence send a clear message - we are not starting from scratch; we are building on 25 years of hard-won progress – and we know what works. A core emphasis for global organizations should be on solutions that are robust, program-sensitive and suitable for large-scale distribution in diverse settings.

To truly reignite progress and move towards elimination, the global community must:

• Maintain and grow investments in malaria programs

• Push ITN coverage

• Continue to innovate in vector control and ensure new tools reach the communities that need them most

• Integrate vector control with vaccines and other interventions, rather than viewing them in silos

Landcent is committed to being part of this next chapter – helping to protect the gains of the past 25 years, prevent millions more infections, and bring a malaria-free future within reach. This moment underscores both the scale of the challenge and the importance of our mission. Our work is focused on translating proven malaria control strategies into practical, sustainable vector control products, including high-quality, long-lasting and resistance-conscious ITNs.