By Business Insider Reporter
Tanzania remains one of the countries most heavily affected by malaria, contributing about four percent of global malaria deaths, according to the World Malaria Report 2025 released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The report places Tanzania among four African countries – alongside Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Niger – that together account for over 50 percent of all malaria-related deaths worldwide.
This concentration underscores the persistent public health challenge facing the country and highlights structural and socio-economic factors that continue to hamper malaria control across sub-Saharan Africa.
In Tanzania, the scale of exposure remains exceptionally high. Nearly 93 percent of the population lives in areas where malaria transmission occurs, making the disease both geographically widespread and difficult to contain.
While expanded use of insecticide-treated nets, improved diagnostics, and wider access to treatment have helped reduce deaths over the past two decades, these gains remain uneven and fragile.
Experts point to several factors sustaining the high malaria burden, including rapid population growth, climate conditions that allow year-round mosquito breeding, gaps in healthcare access in rural areas, and periodic funding disruptions. Resistance to insecticides and antimalarial drugs has also emerged, weakening the effectiveness of existing interventions.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (pictured) has cautioned that the country, like much of Africa, faces serious challenges despite long-term progress.
“New tools for prevention of malaria are giving us new hope, but we still face significant challenges,” he said. “Increasing numbers of cases and deaths, the growing threat of drug resistance, and the impact of funding cuts all threaten to roll back the progress we have made over the past two decades.”
The report shows that Tanzania recorded approximately 3.8 million confirmed malaria cases and 25,500 deaths in 2023. While these figures represent a decline from early 2000s mortality levels – when roughly 44,280 deaths were recorded – they indicate a gradual rise in deaths over the past six years.
The country’s malaria mortality rate has now fallen to about 2.2 deaths per 100,000 population, reflecting better case detection, expanded treatment access, and improvements in health service delivery.
Despite these setbacks, long-term achievements provide hope. Global interventions since 2000 have averted an estimated 2.2 billion malaria cases and 12.7 million deaths.
Advances include the rollout of malaria vaccines in 24 countries since 2021, expanded seasonal chemoprevention, improved surveillance systems, and new bed nets that are more effective against resistant mosquitoes.
However, funding remains a major constraint. WHO estimates that global malaria financing is less than half of what is required, prompting calls for stronger political commitment, sustained investment, and rapid deployment of new tools.
For Tanzania, where malaria remains a leading cause of illness – especially among children under five and pregnant women – the report underscores the urgency of scaling up prevention, strengthening surveillance, and mobilizing adequate resources to protect the population still at risk.
As Dr. Tedros emphasizes; “We know how to beat malaria – the countries that have eliminated the disease are proof.” But for Tanzania and many others, urgent action is needed to prevent further reversals and save lives. “Malaria elimination remains within reach. The certification of Cabo Verde, Egypt, Georgia, Suriname, and Timor-Leste as malaria-free in 2024 and 2025 demonstrates that, with sustained political commitment, strong health systems, and coordinated interventions, countries can successfully interrupt transmission and protect populations from this deadly disease.”
