Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease. Recent progress shows that together, we can put a stop to the unnecessary malaria deaths worldwide.

• Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites that spread to people through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes
• Malaria is not contagious – it cannot be transmitted sexually or through casual contact
• Infected Anopheles mosquitoes primarily bite at night
• Globally there are 106 malaria-endemic countries
• Nearly half of the world’s population (3.3 billion people) are at risk from malaria
•  There are approximately 216 million cases of malaria each year
• 85% of African malaria deaths are children under 5 years old
•  In Africa a child dies every minute of malaria 
• Approximately 91% of the estimated  655,000 global malaria deaths occur in Africa
• It is estimated that up to 200,000 newborns die each year as a result of malaria
  during pregnancy
• Almost 1,800 people die from malaria every day in Africa
• Young children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable to malaria

(Sources: World Health Organization, UNICEF and Roll Back Malaria.)