Kenya has reduced malaria mortality by 32 percent over the past decade while recording a five percent drop in cases between 2023 and 2025, officials said on Thursday, though the disease continues to threaten three in four Kenyans ahead of World Malaria Day on Saturday.
Mary Muriuki, principal secretary for public health and professional standards at Kenya’s Ministry of Health, told a media briefing in Nairobi that prevalence had fallen from eight percent to six percent over ten years, a trend she described as encouraging but insufficient.
“Over the past decade, prevalence has dropped from 8 percent to 6 percent while mortality has fallen by 32 percent in 2025,” Muriuki said.
Despite the progress, Kenya still recorded an estimated 4.2 million malaria cases in 2024, and approximately 75 percent of the population remains exposed to infection risk. Malaria accounts for 18 percent of all outpatient visits at public health facilities, placing a persistent burden on both households and the broader health system.
Children under five and pregnant women bear the heaviest toll, with the disease compounding poverty, inequality, and poor health outcomes in high-endemic communities.
Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, acting World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Kenya, acknowledged that progress was being undermined by mosquito resistance to insecticides and tightening donor funding in counties where malaria transmission is most intense.
She commended Kenya for adopting updated WHO tools, including dual-active insecticide-treated nets, malaria vaccines, and multiple first-line treatments, which she said were critical to reversing stagnation in the hardest-hit areas.
Kenya’s malaria response operates under the Kenya Malaria Strategy 2023 to 2027, which sets a target of interrupting indigenous malaria transmission in select counties by 2027 and 2028. The strategy relies on community health promoters, improved diagnostics, and expanded vaccine coverage to sustain and accelerate the gains achieved so far.
World Malaria Day is observed annually on April 25.
