On May 20, gathered on the margins of the World Health Assembly, global health leaders, African ministers, and disease-fighting partners made an urgent declaration: malaria and neglected tropical diseases will not disappear through fragmented, national efforts alone. The meeting, convened by the African Union Commission and the World Health Organization, brought together representatives from across Africa and the world to reframe an old challenge with a new strategy—one that treats borders not as barriers but as collaborative frontiers.
The numbers tell a story of stunning progress shadowed by persistent urgency. Since 2000, coordinated global efforts have averted 2.3 billion malaria cases and 14 million deaths. Over the past 70 years, 47 countries and one territory have been certified malaria-free, with 37 countries reporting fewer than 1,000 malaria cases in 2024 alone. For neglected tropical diseases, the gains are equally striking: the population requiring NTD interventions has plummeted from 2.2 billion in 2010 to 1.4 billion in 2024, and 63 countries have now eliminated at least one NTD. Yet these victories remain fragile. Malaria still affects an estimated 282 million people annually and causes approximately 610,000 deaths, with young children and pregnant women bearing the heaviest burden. Nearly one billion people live with the impact of neglected tropical diseases, with 1.4 billion requiring interventions each year.
The conversation at the high-level meeting shifted from celebrating past wins to confronting what it will take to reach the 2030 targets: a 90% reduction in malaria cases and deaths, elimination of at least one NTD in 100 countries, elimination of malaria in at least 35 countries, and prevention of disease resurgence. Dr. Daniel Ngamije Madandi, WHO Director of Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, acknowledged that weak health systems, insufficient financing, drug and insecticide resistance, climate change, and workforce shortages continue to hinder progress. Recent declines in global health funding have added urgency to finding more sustainable, efficient approaches.
The breakthrough insight from ministers of health representing countries including Liberia, Senegal, and the United Republic of Tanzania was this: fragmented, disease-specific programs no longer cut it. Success demands integrated national health systems where malaria and NTD services live alongside one another, strengthening each other rather than competing for resources. But integration stops at no border. As human mobility and climate change push disease vectors and transmission across frontiers, border regions—often marked by limited health infrastructure and high population movement—have become both the most vulnerable areas and the most critical spaces for collaboration.
Dr. Ibrahima Sy, Minister of Health and Public Hygiene of Senegal, spoke to the realpolitik of this moment: as external funding shrinks, countries must accelerate their own sovereignty and mobilize domestic resources. Yet that self-reliance must be paired with regional coordination and cross-border surveillance that transforms neighboring countries from competitors into partners.
The partnerships assembled for this effort span the globe: the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, The END Fund, the Task Force for Global Health, and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria. If coordinated national leadership, integrated health systems, and genuine cross-border collaboration hold firm, Dr. Madandi said, "a future free of malaria and neglected tropical diseases is within reach." The question now is whether urgency and unity will follow the words.