Improved surveillance of malaria cases and deaths is vital to enable countries to determine which geographical areas or population groups are most affected by the disease, as well as to monitor changing disease patterns. Strong malaria surveillance systems also help countries design effective health interventions and evaluate the impact of their malaria control programmes.

Malaria surveillance requires continuous and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of malaria-related data. It also means ensuring that the data is used in the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practice.

Transforming surveillance into a core intervention is one of the pillars of WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030. In line with the strategy, WHO urges endemic countries as well as those who have eliminated malaria but are susceptible to re-establishment of transmission, to strengthen their disease surveillance, health information and vital registration systems.

Malaria is currently weakest in countries with the highest malaria burden, making it difficult to accurately assess disease trends and plan interventions. In countries that account for 85% of the global malaria burden, trends are based on models and not on routine surveillance.