LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recorded more than 26 million malaria cases and nearly 30,000 deaths in 2025, highlighting the continued pressure the disease places on the country’s health system.
The Deputy Director of the National Malaria Control Program (PNLP), Dr. Guy Esebe Dembo, disclosed the figures on Friday in Ituri Province during the launch of a mass administration campaign for antimalarial drugs.
“Malaria remains the main public health challenge in the DRC. In 2025, we recorded around 26,064,143 cases and we reported 29,938 deaths,” Dembo said.
Although health authorities did not provide a breakdown of the malaria cases by parasite type, Plasmodium falciparumhas historically been the dominant malaria parasite in the DRC.
Dembo reported that the latest figures show that efforts to control the disease must not only continue but also be strengthened.
He called for the expansion of proven malaria interventions alongside new approaches suited to the needs of different health zones.
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“Despite the efforts made, the burden of malaria remains significant for our health system and our communities. Faced with this situation, we must continue to strengthen high-impact interventions while evaluating new approaches adapted to our health zones,” he stressed.
Notably, the government launched the mass administration of antimalarial drugs earlier in the week as part of efforts to speed up malaria prevention and control in the country.
The campaign in Ituri forms part of a wider national response aimed at reducing malaria infections and deaths.
It is also expected to strengthen community-level prevention efforts while encouraging health workers and other partners to play a greater role in the fight against the disease.
Dembo urged government authorities, healthcare professionals, development partners and communities to become active champions of malaria elimination.
Malaria remains one of the biggest public health threats in Africa, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year, with young children carrying a particularly heavy share of the burden, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Ultimately, the latest DRC figures reinforce the need for sustained prevention, early treatment and stronger malaria control measures across affected communities.
