World Malaria Day 2025

• 25 Apr 2025

Source: TH 

Why in News? 

World Malaria Day, observed on 25^th April annually, was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2007 to raise awareness and drive action against malaria. 

• The theme for World Malaria Day 2025 is “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite” 

What are the Key Facts Regarding Malaria? 

• About: Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite, transmitted to humans by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.  
  • It is common in tropical and subtropical regions of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. 
  • There are 5 Plasmodium species that cause malaria in humans. P. falciparum is the deadliest while P. vivax is the most widespread.  
    • The other species are P. malariae, P. ovale, and P. knowlesi. 
  • The mosquito becomes infected after biting an infected person. The malaria parasites then enter the bloodstream of the next person the mosquito bites.  
    • The parasites travel to the liver, mature, and then infect red blood cells.  
• Symptoms: 
  • It includes fever, chills, headache, and fatigue, and severe cases can lead to organ failure or death.  
    • Notably, malaria is both preventable and curable.  
• Burden:  
  • As per the World Malaria Report 2024, In India, between 2015 and 2023, malaria cases declined from 11.69 lakh to 2.27 lakh, and deaths reduced from 384 to 83, marking an 80% decline in both indicators. 
    • In 2024, India exited WHO’s High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) list, a major milestone in malaria elimination and its vision to achieve malaria-free status by 2030. 
  • Globally, Malaria remains a major health challenge, affecting 263 million people and killing over 600,000 annually.  
    • Africa bears 94–95% of the global malaria burden (WHO, 2024). 
• Treatment & Prevention:  
  • Treatment: Advanced with effective drugs like chloroquine and artemisinin, supported by tools like insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor spraying. 
    • In 2015, Youyou Tu was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of artemisinin, which is derived from the sweet wormwood plant, Artemisia annua. 
  • Vaccines: RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix), approved by WHO in 2021, is the first malaria vaccine for children (5 months+).  
    • In 2023, R21/Matrix-M was approved as a second safe and effective vaccine. 
  • Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs): These nets are treated with insecticide, acting as both a physical and chemical barrier against mosquitoes. 
  • Chemoprophylaxis: Involves taking antimalarial drugs before, during, and after travel to endemic areas to prevent infection. 
  • Preventive Chemotherapy: Targeted administration of antimalarials to vulnerable groups (children, pregnant women) during high-risk periods.  
    • Key strategies include Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC), Perennial Malaria Chemoprevention (PMC), Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy (IPTp), Mass Drug Administration (MDA) etc. 
      • During pregnancy, intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is recommended at every scheduled antenatal care visit, starting from the second trimester, in areas with moderate to high malaria transmission to help prevent infection. 

Note: 

• Female Anopheles mosquitoes are not true parasites as they do not depend entirely on a host for survival. While they require a blood meal to develop eggs, their primary energy source is plant nectar, unlike parasites which fully rely on the host for sustenance. 

Malaria: A Global Disease with Historic Consequences 

• The word “malaria” comes from Italian “mala aria” (bad air), once believed to be its cause.  
  • In 1880, French physician Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran discovered the protozoan parasite Plasmodium as the cause of malaria 
  • Later, Ronald Ross (1897) proved transmission through Anopheles mosquitoes, completing the disease cycle by 1898. 
• This scientific breakthrough helped European colonists survive in Africa, leading to the Scramble for Africa after the Berlin Conference (1884).  
  • Quinine, mosquito nets, and swamp drainage reduced malaria deaths, enabling colonisation—by 1914, Europeans controlled 90% of Africa. 
• Malaria also shaped the trans-Atlantic slave trade, as Africans with genetic resistance were preferred labour in malaria-endemic colonies like the Caribbean and Americas. 
  • This contributed to racialised labour systems and long-term social inequality. 

What are the Key Initiatives to Curb Malaria?  

• Global Efforts: 
  • WHO Global Malaria Program: It supports countries by guiding policy, coordinating global efforts, promoting research, setting evidence-based guidelines, and monitoring malaria trends. 
    • The WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030 aims to reduce malaria cases and deaths by at least 90% by 2030, eliminate malaria in ≥35 countries by 2030 and prevent resurgence in malaria-free countries. 
  • E-2025 initiative: Under this, World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 25 countries, with the potential to eradicate malaria by 2025.  
  • Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Against Malaria 
• National Initiatives: 
  • National Framework for Malaria Elimination 2016-2030  
  • National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme: Addresses various vector-borne diseases, including malaria, through prevention and control measures.  
  • Malaria Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India): Established by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), collaborates with partners on malaria control research.  
  • High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) Initiative: Initiated in 4 states (West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh) in 2019 to focus on malaria reduction through insecticidal net distribution.  
  • National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP): Launched in 1953, to address the severe impact of malaria.  
    • It focuses on three core activities: insecticidal residual spraying (IRS) with DDT, case monitoring and surveillance, and patient treatment.  

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) 

Q. Widespread resistance of malarial parasite to drugs like chloroquine has prompted attempts to develop a malarial vaccine to combat malaria. Why is it difficult to develop an effective malaria vaccine? (2010)

(a) Malaria is caused by several species of Plasmodium 
(b) Man does not develop immunity to malaria during natural infection 
(c) Vaccines can be developed only against bacteria 
(d) Man is only an intermediate host and not the definitive host 

Ans: (b)