The fight against malaria, a disease that continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year, is receiving a boost with a latest tool for tracking progress: a dashboard launched by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) that monitors the status of countries partnering with the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). This KFF Dashboard, released in May 2025, provides a centralized view of data from 30 countries, representing almost 90% of the global malaria burden.
Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, with an estimated 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths worldwide in 2023, according to data used in the dashboard. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the disease, but the PMI also works in Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong subregion. The dashboard’s launch comes as the PMI expands its reach, recently forming new partnerships with Burundi, The Gambia, and Togo in 2023, bringing the total number of partner countries to 30. Understanding the progress—and challenges—in these regions is crucial for effectively allocating resources and refining strategies to combat the disease.
Tracking Progress Towards Global Targets
The KFF dashboard isn’t simply a collection of numbers; it’s designed to monitor progress toward specific, globally recognized malaria targets. The data powering the dashboard, available for download here, are sourced from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Malaria Report 2025. This allows for a standardized and comparable assessment of malaria control efforts across different countries.
The U.S. Government has been a major player in global malaria efforts since the 1950s and is currently the largest donor government to these initiatives. The PMI, overseen by the U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator, is the primary vehicle for U.S. Assistance, reaching approximately 30 countries. Recent developments, including the WHO’s recommendation of two malaria vaccines in 2021 and 2023 respectively, offer new hope in the fight against the disease, and the dashboard will likely be updated to reflect the impact of these vaccines as data become available.
The Role of Funding and Advocacy
Securing adequate funding is a constant challenge in global health initiatives. Margaret Reilly McDonnell, Executive Director of United to Beat Malaria, highlighted the importance of sustained financial support, noting that $795 million in PMI funding was secured for Fiscal Year 2023—a $20 million increase. This funding increase directly enabled the program expansion to include Burundi, The Gambia, and Togo. Advocacy efforts, McDonnell emphasized, played a key role in securing this funding, and continued advocacy will be crucial to maintaining or increasing support in the future.
Impact and Future Outlook
The PMI’s expansion and the availability of tools like the KFF dashboard underscore a renewed commitment to eradicating malaria. The dashboard provides a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and advocates to track progress, identify areas where interventions are falling short, and make data-driven decisions. The initiative’s proven track record, as noted in a statement from United to Beat Malaria, suggests that these new collaborations have the potential to prevent millions of cases and save countless lives.
But, challenges remain. Drug and insecticide resistance, as well as the impacts of climate change, continue to complicate malaria control efforts. The dashboard will be regularly updated as new data become available, offering a continuous assessment of the effectiveness of current strategies and informing future interventions. The next major update is expected to coincide with the release of the WHO’s World Malaria Report in 2026, providing a comprehensive overview of the global malaria landscape.
The KFF dashboard represents a significant step forward in transparency and accountability in the fight against malaria. By providing a centralized and accessible source of data, it empowers stakeholders to operate more effectively towards a malaria-free future.
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