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Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

By The Global Fund

April 18^th, 2024

Little Tony-Jason is a happy and curious 8-month-old.

He lives with his 3-year-old sister Gabriella and his mother and father, Melissa and Tomnjong, in Soa, a town about 20 kilometers north of Cameroon’s capital city, Yaoundé.

Born last August, Tony-Jason weighed a healthy four kilograms at birth. He recently started eating solid foods and continues to meet his development milestones.

“When I look at my children, I’m so proud. It’s a feeling you can never understand until you are a father,” says Tomnjong. “I have to do my best to ensure they have the best.”

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Like all parents, Melissa and Tomnjong’s top priority is their children’s health. They are acutely aware of the dangers their children face.

Early in her pregnancy with Tony-Jason, Melissa was diagnosed with malaria, which is endemic in Cameroon. A few days later, Gabriella fell ill with the disease. Melissa recovered quickly but Gabriella struggled: “She had a high temperature and was vomiting,” says Melissa. “We spent four days in the hospital.”

The entire population of Cameroon – 27 million people – are at risk for malaria. According to the World Health Organization , the country recorded more than 6.4 million cases of the disease and over 12,500 deaths in 2022.

Eventually, Gabriella made a full recovery. But every year, hundreds of thousands of children around the world do not.

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

A Daunting and Evolving Threat

Malaria remains a daunting global health challenge that is particularly devastating for pregnant women and young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Globally, malaria kills one child every minute.

When a pregnant woman is infected with malaria, her baby can be born severely underweight, resulting in health complications and even death. In 2022, an estimated 12.7 million pregnant women in Africa, or 1 out of 3, were diagnosed with the disease.

Malaria is also changing rapidly, presenting new threats for the people most at risk, and new challenges for those fighting the disease.

Climate change has led to severe flooding, rain and rising temperatures – the perfect conditions for malaria to spread to new locations and cases to spike. In many places around the world, mosquitoes have become resistant to insecticides, which no longer offer the protection they once did.

To stay ahead of these lethal changes to the disease, the Global Fund works closely with partners to develop, invest in and deploy new tools and innovations.

Cameroon is at the forefront of this evolution – harnessing the latest, lifesaving tools to fight back, and build on progress made over the last decade.

Fighting Malaria on All Fronts

Cameroon’s government, with support from the Global Fund, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative and others, is simultaneously rolling out the newest mosquito nets, preventive treatment for young children and pregnant women, the new malaria vaccine as well as community-based testing and treatment services.

These interventions target people most at risk, and together, they create multiple layers of protection against the disease, despite its changing nature.

Cameroon has also adopted free access to malaria diagnosis and treatment services for children under 5 and pregnant women.

The RTS,S Malaria Vaccine

Earlier this year, Cameroon became the first country in the world to incorporate the new RTS,S malaria vaccine into its routine national child immunization program.

The Global Fund worked together with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Unitaid to fund the initial pilot programs for the vaccine.

The RTS,S malaria vaccine is an exciting addition to the malaria toolbox. It should be used in addition to other proven tools, such as the newest dual active ingredient insecticide-treated mosquito nets, preventive treatment for children, and community-based testing, treatment and case management.

Global Fund investments in local health systems have been vital in supporting the malaria vaccine’s rollout in Cameroon.

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

After falling ill with malaria early in her pregnancy, Melissa started taking medication known as intermittent preventive treatment, or IPTp, which protected her from malaria for the remainder of her pregnancy.

During her first prenatal check-up, she received a new dual active ingredient (AI) insecticide-treated mosquito net, which her family sleeps under today. These new nets are coated with two insecticides, making them more effective against mosquitoes that have built up resistance to standard nets.

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Throughout Melissa’s pregnancy, Amélie, a community health worker, visited Melissa’s home and ensured the family was healthy and had access to medical care – including malaria testing and treatment, if needed.

And on February 29th, when Tony-Jason was exactly 6 months old, he received one of the new malaria vaccines.

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Melissa and Tomnjong say they will use whatever resources they have available to keep their children healthy.

“Malaria is really persistent,” says Melissa. “Amélie told us about the malaria vaccine. I trust her, so I accepted her suggestion to give it to our son. I hope for a future where our children won’t be sick.”

In addition to reaching pregnant women and children, Global Fund investments also support Cameroon’s mass mosquito net distribution campaigns across the country.

Most recently, nets were distributed in the Southwest region, a particularly challenging area that has experienced insecurity since 2017. In just seven days, 1.2 million new dual AI insecticide-treated nets were distributed directly to people’s homes.

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Cameroon is 1 of 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa distributing the new nets, which are proving to be more effective than standard nets, cost-efficient, and are saving millions of lives.

Cameroon also recently brought together ministers of health from African countries with the highest malaria burdens at the Malaria Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé. There, decision-makers committed to building stronger leadership and increasing domestic funding to end malaria.

Together, these tools and interventions – combined with political and financial commitment and strong partnerships among government, health agencies, civil society and communities – can make a real difference, and strike back against a fast-moving, adaptable disease.

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

The Global Fund Impact Fighting Malaria in Cameroon

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Cameroon: One Country’s Fight to Keep Mothers and Children Safe from Malaria

Footnotes

Written by Melanie Sharpe. Photos by Vincent Becker and Bisong Cletus Tambe. Video by Go’tham Industry. With many thanks to Cameroon’s Ministry of Health and the Soa District Hospital.

FootNotes

Written by Melanie Sharpe. Photos by Vincent Becker and Bisong Cletus Tambe. Video by Go’tham Industry. With many thanks to Cameroon’s Ministry of Health and the Soa District Hospital.

© 2026 The Global Fund

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