As a young girl, Krystal Birungi vividly remembers her mother staying up all night with her 5-year-old brother, who was convulsing with fever from malaria.
“Mom was trying to keep his temperature down. I knew there was a treatment for the disease he had, but we didn’t have the money to afford it,” she says.
Krystal also remembers the first time she had malaria when she was just 5 years old. It was a feeling of overwhelming weakness. Despite having burning thirst, she was unable to lift her head for a sip of water. She could not eat because she would immediately vomit. She would violently shiver, feeling freezing cold even though she had a dangerously high fever.
“It felt like you were trying to keep yourself in one piece – it was really bad. I wouldn't wish it on anybody,” says Krystal.
When Krystal and her two younger brothers were growing up, their mother worked to support the family. When one of her children got malaria, she was left with the impossible decision of whether to stay home and care for her sick child or go to work to earn money to pay for their treatment.
“It is the kind of decision no mother should ever have to make,” says Krystal.
Krystal and her family are from Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.
Uganda’s tropical climate and mix of warm, humid forests and large agricultural settlements create a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry malaria. Over 90% of the country is at risk of the disease, and malaria continues to be the leading cause of death – particularly among young children.
The horrific impact that malaria had on her family and community inspired Krystal to dedicate her life to ending the disease.
As a field entomologist, Krystal visits communities most affected by malaria. Here she speaks to people in Entebbe who live next to Lake Victoria.
Today, Krystal works as a field entomologist at the Uganda Virus Research Institute on a project called Target Malaria, which aims to develop genetic technology to reduce mosquito populations and interrupt transmission of the disease.
She is one of the few female scientists on the team.
“Every day I get up, and I want to end malaria,” she says.
Despite Uganda having one of the world’s highest burdens of malaria, the country has made significant progress in the fight against the deadly disease since the Global Fund was established 20 years ago.
Deaths from malaria fell by almost two-thirds between 2002-2020, while the percentage of people using long-lasting insecticidal nets almost doubled over the same period. In 2020, almost every person in the country with suspected malaria received a test.
Krystal says that the Global Fund’s arrival in Uganda was a game-changer.
“I remember what it was like when the Global Fund came to Uganda. They brought free malaria treatment to hospitals, free mosquito nets that protected children and their families and funded village health teams,” she says.
Today, in addition to her work as an entomologist, Krystal is a mother to three-year-old son Theo. She is thankful that she does not face the same challenges that her mother did.
“I can afford to pay for treatment for my own son and for other family members. My family is no longer in the same situation we were in when I was a child,” she says.
Globally, after years of steady declines, malaria cases and deaths are on the rise mainly due to plateauing funds, new threats and the impact of COVID-19.
Today, every minute a child will die from malaria.
To fight back the disease, the Global Fund invests in new tools – such as next-generation insecticide-treated nets, preventive treatment for children and pregnant women and indoor residual spraying.
Increased investments in fighting malaria are needed to end the disease by 2030.
After experiencing the terror of malaria first-hand, Krystal remains dedicated to doing everything she can to protect others.
“Every child everywhere deserves to be protected from malaria. Every mother deserves to be free from the fear that her child will die from malaria.”
© 2026 The Global Fund
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