About World Malaria Day
World Malaria Day is marked on 25 April, and in 2027 it falls on Sunday, 25 April 2027. WHO member states created it at the World Health Assembly in 2007 to keep money and attention on a disease that a mosquito bite can still make fatal. India has cut reported cases sharply and is working towards zero locally spread cases by 2027.
Malaria in India is a fever that people wait out. That habit is the reason the disease still kills, because a falciparum infection can turn severe within days.
Why is World Malaria Day on 25 April?
WHO member states created World Malaria Day at the World Health Assembly in 2007. The date, 25 April, has stayed fixed, and WHO sets a theme each year: "Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite" in 2025 and "Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must." in 2026.
India's link to the disease is older and more direct. On 20 August 1897, in Secunderabad, the army doctor Ronald Ross found malaria parasites in the gut of a mosquito he had fed on an infected patient. That proved mosquitoes carry the disease and won him the Nobel Prize in 1902. The building where he worked is now the Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology in Begumpet, and 20 August is kept as World Mosquito Day.
How much malaria does India still have?
Far less than a decade ago. The numbers reported by the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control tell a clear story, and they are not just a testing artefact, because testing went up while cases went down.
| India's malaria numbers | 2016 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed cases | 10,85,823 | 2,55,500 |
| Deaths | 331 | 86 |
| Tests done | 12.49 crore | 18.16 crore |
| Share of tests positive | 0.87% | 0.14% |
More than 120 districts reported zero malaria cases by 2023, and in 2024 India left WHO's High Burden to High Impact group, the list of countries carrying the heaviest malaria load. The work runs under the National Framework for Malaria Elimination, which covers 2016 to 2030, with a strategic plan for 2023 to 2027. The targets are zero locally transmitted cases by 2027 and elimination by 2030.
What is left is concentrated: forested and tribal districts, mining and construction sites, and people who move for work between states. Both main parasites circulate here, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, and vivax can come back months later from the liver, which is why the follow-up course of tablets matters.
How is malaria prevented and treated in India?
Testing and treatment are free at government facilities. In villages, ASHA workers carry rapid diagnostic tests that give a result from a finger-prick in about 15 minutes, so a fever can be settled the same day. Confirmed falciparum malaria is treated with artemisinin-based combination therapy. The main prevention tools are long-lasting insecticidal nets handed out in high-burden districts and indoor residual spraying before the transmission season.
- Fever with chillsGet a blood test the same day, not after three days of paracetamol. ASHA workers and government health centres test free.
- If the test is positiveStart the medicines immediately and finish the full course, including the vivax follow-up tablets that clear the liver stage.
- Sleep under the netAnopheles mosquitoes bite mostly from dusk to dawn, so an untreated net or an open window at night undoes the rest.
- Empty the breeding waterChange water in coolers, pots, tyres and tanks weekly. Malaria mosquitoes like still water; dengue mosquitoes like the clean water you store.
- Warning signsConfusion, breathlessness, no urine, repeated vomiting or a fit means hospital now. Severe falciparum malaria can kill in a day or two.
What to write on World Malaria Day
Nobody wants a greeting card for malaria. What works is a message that changes what someone does this week.
Don't wait out this fever. The ASHA didi has the test kit and it's free. Please get it done today and message me the result.
Glad the fever has broken. Finish the full course, including the tablets for later. Shortcuts here bring it straight back.
On World Malaria Day, a small ask: use the net they gave you at the site. Two weeks of fever costs more than one night of discomfort.
Thank you for carrying test kits door to door through the monsoon. India's malaria numbers fell because of work like yours.
Before you go, ask a doctor about preventive tablets and carry a repellent. Any fever within a month of the trip needs a malaria test.
This World Malaria Day, let's do one round of the building and empty the coolers, tyres and pot trays. Fifteen minutes now saves a season of fevers.
Malaria sits alongside the other big infection days in India's health calendar: World TB Day on 24 March, World Hepatitis Day on 28 July and World AIDS Day on 1 December. For someone unwell right now, Get Well Soon wording suits better.
How to wish someone on World Malaria Day
Malaria is not a greetings occasion. The useful message on 25 April is a reminder to someone you love: get a fever tested rather than waiting it out, use the net that is folded in the cupboard, and empty the water under the cooler. Thanks to ASHA workers and lab technicians also fit the day well.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is World Malaria Day in 2026 and 2027?
World Malaria Day is on 25 Apr every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is World Malaria Day in 2027?
World Malaria Day 2027 falls on Sunday, 25 April 2027.
Why is World Malaria Day observed on 25 April?
WHO member states set up World Malaria Day at the World Health Assembly in 2007 and fixed it on 25 April. The day is used to keep funding and political attention on malaria control and to launch a new campaign theme each year.
Is India free of malaria?
Not yet. India reported 2,55,500 confirmed cases and 86 deaths in 2024, down from over 10.8 lakh cases and 331 deaths in 2016. The national target is zero locally transmitted cases by 2027 and elimination by 2030.
Is malaria testing and treatment free in India?
Yes. Government health centres and ASHA workers provide rapid diagnostic tests and the full course of anti-malarial medicines free of charge. In high-burden districts, insecticide-treated nets are also distributed free.
What are the first signs of malaria?
Fever that comes with shaking chills and sweating, often with headache, body ache and vomiting. The pattern is not always regular, so any fever in a malaria-prone area should be tested rather than treated at home with painkillers.
Why do vivax malaria patients need extra tablets?
Plasmodium vivax can leave dormant parasites in the liver that cause a fresh attack weeks or months later. A follow-up course prescribed by a doctor clears that liver stage, which is why stopping once the fever settles often leads to a relapse.
Who discovered that mosquitoes spread malaria?
Ronald Ross, working in the Indian Medical Service, found malaria parasites in a mosquito's gut in Secunderabad on 20 August 1897. He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1902, and the date is now marked as World Mosquito Day.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .