Malaria infections in Kenya surged in 2025, with the World Health Organisation reporting more than 4.1 million cases across the country. The rise marks a significant increase from 2024, highlighting persistent challenges in controlling the disease despite ongoing health interventions.
Kenya now ranks higher both in Africa and globally for malaria burden, underlining the continued public health threat.
According to the WHO World Malaria Report, the nation recorded 4,186,000 malaria cases last year, up from 3,294,000 in 2024. This represents 892,000 additional infections, a jump of 27 per cent.
The increase pushed Kenya from 21st to 20th in Africa and from 21st to 23rd worldwide. Despite various measures, the country remains classified as high-burden, with malaria continuing to affect millions of people.
The report notes that the rise in cases occurred even with large-scale prevention campaigns, including distribution of insecticide-treated nets, Indoor Residual Spraying under the ITTP programme, wider Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention coverage, and the rollout of malaria vaccines in high-risk counties.
Kenya’s share of global malaria cases increased from 1.3 per cent in 2023 to 1.5 per cent in 2025, representing 5.7 per cent of the worldwide total. Among children under five, the proportion also rose to 1.5 per cent. WHO attributes part of the increase to a decline in international funding for malaria control efforts.
“Total malaria funding decreased by about 50 per cent between 2015 and 2024, from $879 million to $439 million, marking one of the sharpest contractions in global malaria investment in the last decade. This reduction has created serious gaps in prevention, diagnostics and treatment financing, particularly in high-burden countries that rely heavily on external support,” the report reads.
The funding shortfall followed a pause in US aid and a withdrawal of staff from WHO programmes in 2024, affecting initiatives such as PEPFAR. In addition, climate and environmental changes contributed to the surge.
Shifting rainfall patterns, higher temperatures, longer rainy seasons and flooding in several areas created ideal conditions for Anopheles mosquitoes, the insects that carry malaria.
Despite these setbacks, WHO estimates that new interventions prevented roughly 170 million malaria cases and one million deaths globally in 2024. Dual-ingredient mosquito nets and vaccines are increasingly incorporated into health systems, with 24 countries rolling out malaria vaccines since 2021.
Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention has expanded to 54 million children in 2024, compared to 0.2 million in 2012.
Progress in malaria elimination continues, with 47 countries and one territory certified malaria-free by WHO. Cabo Verde and Egypt were certified in 2024, while Georgia, Suriname and Timor-Leste joined in 2025.
Nevertheless, malaria remains widespread. WHO reported 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths worldwide in 2024, with Africa accounting for most infections, particularly among young children. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the ongoing risks:
“New tools for the prevention of malaria are giving us new hope, but we still face significant challenges. 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. However, none of these challenges is insurmountable. With the leadership of the most-affected countries and targeted investment, the vision of a malaria-free world remains achievable.”
The report also highlights the rise of drug resistance, especially to artemisinin-based treatments, with confirmed or suspected resistance in at least eight African nations. Other challenges include pfhrp2 gene deletions that compromise rapid diagnostic tests, pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes in 48 countries, and the spread of Anopheles stephensi in nine African countries.
