France, April 25 -- In 25 years, investment in the fight against malaria has prevented two billion infections and 13 million deaths, most of them in Africa, which carries nearly all of the burden of the disease. But as cases rise for a fifth year in a row and US funding is cut, experts warn that progress is slowing. Reaching the UN goal of ending malaria by 2030 now looks increasingly uncertain.

Despite major gains, the World Health Organization (WHO) said efforts to stop malaria remain too slow. The disease killed 597,000 people in 2023.

A WHO report released in December showed 263 million cases in 2023, 11 million more than in 2022. It was the fifth year in a row that cases increased.

Africa is the worst-hit region, accounting for ar...