New research published today reveals young adults in sub-Saharan Africa are thought to have lost an average of more than half a school year, or 96 days, due to the effects of malaria on their health.
The research by Impact Global Health, commissioned by Malaria No More UK, also looked at the longer-term impacts on employment, and found the same group of young adults are projected to lose 10% of their lifetime earnings as a result of the disease.
Ally Nzowa, a teacher in Tanzania has witnessed the most severe impacts of malaria on a child’s development. “There was a student who had all the symptoms of malaria, but he was stubborn and decided to push through. Eventually it affected his brain and he was away for more than three months. Out of my ninety-one Swahili students, he was the only one who received an F,” Ally said.
Then there is Adam,15 from southern Tanzania. He aspires to be an engineer. In 2024, as his classmates prepared for crucial exams, he struggled to get out of bed because of malaria. “Even walking was difficult. I was confined to bed. The days kept passing and the fever didn’t go away – I was away from school for two weeks. When I returned to school, I kept asking my teachers and classmates to teach me so that I could understand the work and catch up. I ended up getting a B but I would have got an A if wasn’t for malaria.”
Malaria often causes fevers which can prevent a child from attending school (as they recover at home or in hospital) meaning they can fall behind or underperform in exams (see case studies below). In more severe, though rarer cases, ‘cerebral malaria’ can directly impact a child’s cognitive function, leaving them with lifelong impairments on their ability to learn.
Due to a ‘perfect storm’ of challenges, including funding cuts, mosquito resistance to existing tools and extreme weather events caused by climate change, malaria deaths have been rising in recent years and currently claim around 610,000 lives a year – three quarters of which are children under five.
The researchers also found that the cuts of around 30% from the shortfall in the Global Fund and declining bilateral support in 2025 will, if left unaddressed, compound the negative impacts of malaria on education and salaries in sub-Saharan Africa. For example, for those born this year, they estimate that the cuts will result in around an 18% increase in lost school days and potential lifetime earnings.
Malaria No More UK are therefore calling for a boost to malaria funding to avoid a resurgence in the disease and to revive hopes of ending the disease in our lifetimes. Such a resurgence would lead to additional deaths, as well as further harming educational outcomes for children in malaria-endemic countries.
Specifically, the charity is asking countries to continue investing in major global health bodies, like Gavi and the Global Fund, to deliver life-saving malaria tools and for malaria-endemic countries to boost malaria funding domestically.
In addition, they are calling for the Global Fund and Gavi to work closely with The World Bank to ensure programmes fighting malaria work as effectively as possible and are fully funded. They believe these institutions are also well-placed to help support in the transition to a model of aid which puts an even greater emphasis on the autonomy and sovereignty of malaria-endemic countries.
This research comes at the time of an announcement of a new funding mechanism, called ‘The Malaria Impact Accelerator’, which aims to channel additional money from philanthropists to the Global Fund to support malaria specifically. Whilst the amount of money committed has yet to be confirmed, it is hoped to be sufficient to prevent a resurgence of the disease if governments also sustain existing support to critical global health bodies.
“Our research shows how malaria can define the trajectory of a child’s life by derailing their education and robbing them of a more comfortable income. And, following funding cuts and a perfect storm of additional challenges, we could see yet more children suffer as we face the very real prospect of a malaria resurgence,” said Gareth Jenkins, Managing Director of Malaria No More UK.
Jenkins adds that this is why governments need to back key global health bodies, like the Global Fund and Gavi, who are uniquely well placed to ensure life-saving tools reach those who need them. “We need these organisations to work closely with The World Bank, too, so that malaria programmes are funded fully and work as effectively as possible,” he said.
He noted that the scale of response to meet the scale of the challenge is wanting. “If we fall short, children across sub-Saharan Africa will continue to be robbed of an education by a disease we have the ability to prevent. But if we meet the moment, we can save lives and help children around the world realise their dreams, as well as providing a much-needed boost to global economic growth in the process,” he added.