The World Health Organization estimates that about 2.2 billion malaria cases have been prevented since 2000 through awareness-raising programmes, the use of mosquito nets and vaccination.
The World Health Organization wrote, in a report published in Geneva on Wednesday, that during this process, about 12.7 million deaths were avoided.
17 countries currently vaccinate young children against malaria on a regular basis. According to World Health estimates, this could prevent tens of thousands of deaths annually.
Malaria is the second most common tropical disease.
The report stated that, according to estimates, a total of 597,000 people died from malaria in 2023. This is a slight decrease in the number of victims, but there was an increase in infections by 4%, meaning a total of 263 million people.
About 95% of deaths occurred in African countries, and the organization said that there are also many who do not have any means to prevent infection with the disease or diagnose and treat it. Especially young children are the most affected.
The World Health Organization announced that the infectious disease has now been eliminated in 44 countries and in the French department of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean.