Rwanda reduces malaria cases by 88 pct in 7 years: official

KIGALI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has successfully reduced malaria cases by 88 percent over the last seven years through a series of targeted interventions, including extensive community engagement, a health official said Thursday.

Malaria incidence plummeted from around five million cases in 2017 to 600,000 in 2023, representing an 88 percent reduction. Severe malaria cases similarly declined from 18,000 in 2017 to 1,300 in 2023, with malaria-related fatalities dropping from approximately 600 in 2017 to 51 in 2023, according to Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, an official from the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC).