WHO / Yoshi Shimizu
A WHO field staff talks to a woman fetching water from a water catchment tank in Kiribati.

Malaria in Viet Nam

Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2017, about 219 million cases of malaria were estimated in 90 countries, and 435 000 of malaria deaths reported.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs.

Malaria is preventable and curable.

Control measures, including insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying can prevent and reduce malaria transmission.

Early diagnosis and prompt effective treatment of malaria reduce disease and can help prevent malaria-related deaths. The best available treatment, particularly for Plasmodium falciparum malaria, is artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).

Technical links

Global malaria control and elimination

Total funding for global malaria control and elimination reached an estimated US$ 3.1 billion in 2017. Contributions from governments of endemic countries amounted to US$ 900 million, representing 28% of total funding.

Malaria in Viet Nam

Malaria transmission in Viet Nam is concentrated in hilly, forested areas in southern and central highland provinces, with peak in December – February.

Viet Nam’s malaria control programme

Viet Nam has achieved remarkable progress in malaria control in the past 10 years as seen in the number of malaria cases reducing by 60% from 11 355 in 2008 to 4 548 in 2017. During the same period, the number of deaths was reduced by 76%.