The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that efforts for malaria coordination and surveillance are currently in progress in Ethiopia, where the nation reported over 520,000 malaria cases within a single month.
In a report from the Ethiopia Health Cluster Bulletin, the WHO indicated that the East African nation documented a total of 520,782 malaria cases in May.
Additionally, the WHO noted that Ethiopia is actively addressing several disease outbreaks, which include cholera, measles, malaria, and mpox.
It emphasized that ongoing conflicts in various regions of the country continue to impact public health, stating that these conflicts have “left individuals in urgent need of assistance, many of whom are stranded in hard-to-reach locations with severely limited humanitarian access.”
Malaria is prevalent in Ethiopia, particularly in regions situated below 2,000 meters in altitude, which encompass three-quarters of the land area of this East African nation. Approximately 69 percent of the population living in these regions are at risk of contracting the disease.
As per the World Health Organization, Ethiopia documented over 8.4 million malaria cases in 2024, marking the highest annual total of cases ever recorded in the nation.
The infection is induced by a parasite and is not transmissible between individuals. Symptoms may range from mild to life-threatening. Mild symptoms consist of fever, chills, and headache. Severe symptoms encompass fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty in breathing.
Infants, children under the age of 5, pregnant women and girls, travelers, as well as individuals living with HIV or AIDS, are at an increased risk of experiencing severe infections. Malaria can be prevented by steering clear of mosquito bites and through the use of medications. Treatments are available that can prevent mild cases from deteriorating.