BUNIA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / RankWire.AI / – The Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded 26,064,143 malaria cases in 2025, underscoring the scale of the disease nationwide. Health officials also reported 29,938 malaria-related deaths during the year. Guy Esebe Dembo, deputy director of the National Malaria Control Programme, announced the figures during the launch of a mass treatment campaign in Ituri province. The campaign focuses on areas where malaria remains a major cause of illness and pressure on health services.
Malaria prevention and treatment remain central to public health efforts across the DRC.
Authorities launched the Ituri campaign across the health zones of Bunia, Nyakunde, Mungwalu and Rwampara. The four-day operation targets more than one million people with antimalarial medicines. Ituri recorded more than 373,000 malaria cases and 106 deaths during the first half of 2026. Health teams are using the campaign to reduce malaria infections and fever cases in affected communities. Officials also want health facilities to identify other serious illnesses more efficiently when patients arrive with symptoms that may resemble malaria.
The country’s malaria burden remains among the highest in the world. Global estimates for 2024 put malaria infections at 282 million, with about 610,000 deaths from the disease. Africa accounted for roughly 95% of both cases and fatalities. The Democratic Republic of the Congo represented 11.7% of malaria deaths in the African region. Children under five continued to account for most malaria deaths across Africa, highlighting the disease’s impact on young children in countries with sustained transmission.
Malaria remains a major national health burden
Malaria spreads mainly through bites from infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Common symptoms include fever, chills and headaches, while severe disease can cause seizures, breathing problems and extreme weakness. Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous malaria parasite, dominates transmission across Africa. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment can prevent many severe cases and deaths. Health programmes also rely on insecticide-treated mosquito nets, preventive medicines, indoor spraying and community-based measures to reduce exposure to infected mosquitoes and interrupt transmission.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo expanded its malaria response with the introduction of the R21 vaccine in October 2024. The first phase began in Kongo Central after the country received 693,500 doses for children. That rollout targeted 173,375 children across 31 health zones. The World Health Organization supported the vaccine introduction alongside national health authorities and health partners. Vaccination adds another prevention tool to existing measures, including mosquito nets, preventive treatment, testing and artemisinin-based medicines for confirmed malaria infections.
Treatment campaign adds to wider prevention measures
The national malaria strategy for 2024 through 2028 combines several approaches for communities facing persistent transmission. Planned measures include newer insecticide-treated nets, preventive treatment for pregnant women and infants, and a seasonal malaria chemoprevention pilot. The programme also includes indoor residual spraying, larval control, rapid diagnostic testing and treatment with recommended antimalarial medicines. Surveillance and community engagement form part of the same framework. Authorities have set a goal of protecting 80% of people considered at risk from malaria.
The 2025 national figures provide the latest reported count from the country’s malaria programme and differ from modeled international estimates. They show that malaria continues to affect tens of millions of people across the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Ituri mass treatment campaign now forms part of a broader response that includes vaccination, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Health authorities continue to concentrate resources in communities with heavy transmission as they work to limit infections, severe illness and deaths linked to malaria.