EOB 2024-2025
IMPACT INDICATOR
Incidence rate of malaria
Baseline
2015
0.83 cases per 1000 population
Target
2025
0.21 cases per 1000 population
Status
2024
0.87 cases per 1000 population
Rating
Stagnating
% annual change required to achieve target
-13.86%
% annual change recorded as of last year available
0.52%
This indicator reflects the commitment of Member States to eliminating malaria transmission, supported by PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative. The indicator complements indicator 22 on malaria elimination in countries and reflects sustained efforts to interrupt transmission in endemic areas.
The malaria incidence rate in the Region showed a fluctuating trend between 2015 and 2024, increasing from 0.83 cases per 1000 population in 2015 to 1.59 in 2017, declining to 0.79 in 2022, and rising again to 0.87 in 2024. Overall, this represents a 4.3% increase over the period. From a regional perspective, this pattern indicates that the target under the PAHO Strategic Plan 2020–2025 of 0.21 cases per 1000 population was not achieved. Considering the insufficient progress made, progress under this indicator is considered to be stagnating.
The epidemiological situation continues to be shaped by persistent transmission across diverse endemic settings, particularly in areas characterized by geographic inaccessibility, population mobility, and populations in situations of vulnerability. In 2024, PAHO reported 536 700 malaria cases and 136 deaths in the Region.
Continued challenges include uneven access to timely diagnosis and treatment; operational constraints in remote areas, including supplies of medicines and diagnostic tests; and limited capacity of local teams to innovate and adapt interventions through improved use of information. With support from the Bureau and partners, countries are being encouraged to implement the Plan of Action for Malaria Elimination 2026–2030 as renewed regional framework for strengthening surveillance, improving case management, and advancing locally adapted elimination strategies.
Recommendations
Implement the strategic changes promoted by PAHO in the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Malaria in the Americas 2026–2030.
Strengthen implementation of targeted malaria interventions in high-transmission and high-vulnerability areas, with particular attention to remote, border, mining, migrant, and Indigenous populations.
Expand access to early diagnosis and effective treatment through strengthened primary health care and community-based delivery mechanisms, particularly in settings with persistent barriers to care.
Strengthen surveillance, case investigation, and response capacity to improve the timeliness, completeness, and disaggregation of data and support more precise targeting of interventions.
Reinforce inter-programmatic, intersectoral, cross-border, and community-based collaboration under the Plan of Action for Malaria Elimination in the Americas 2026–2030 to address the structural and operational factors that continue to hinder progress toward elimination.