Annual malaria deaths have halved since 2000

Health experts are warning against complacency after the publication of a report showing that the worldwide number of deaths each year from malaria has halved in the past 15 years.

A joint World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) report shows that the number of deaths from malaria has fallen from 839 000 in 2000 to an estimated 438 000 in 2015.1 The number of cases of malaria has also fallen but not by such a large amount, largely because there are many more cases than deaths. In 2000 there were 262 million cases of malaria, while in 2015 the estimated number is 214 million. Most cases (89%) and deaths (91%) occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report hails the cut in mortality as an impressive achievement in light of the …