Where Bullets Fly, Malaria Kills

InnovationHealthcareWhere Bullets Fly, Malaria KillsByPeter Sands,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and MalariaFollow AuthorApr 23, 2026, 07:17am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Children sit under a new insecticide-treated received through Ghragana Health Centre in Gedaref state, Sudan, during a six-day mass net distribution campaign.© UNICEFIn a camp in Darfur, an infant develops a fever. All too often, the cause is malaria, a disease that flourishes in the chaos of conflict. If the family can access prompt diagnosis and treatment, the child is unlikely to develop a severe case of the disease, let alone die. But time is of the essence. Survival rates plummet if the parasite is left undetected and untreated for more than a couple of days. Where health care facilities have been destroyed, medical supply chains disrupted and health workers overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cases, too many children are dying because conflict prevents timely access to care.Malnutrition, another consequence of conflict, also contributes to the malaria death toll. Poorly nourished children are far less likely to survive.Whether in Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar or the Sahel, we see the same pattern. Where bullets fly, malaria becomes even more deadly. In some cases, the disease kills more people than the fighting. With conflicts escalating in so many parts of the world, we are seeing an upsurge in malaria cases and deaths.The convergence of conflict and malaria is most devastating in Africa, where around 95% of deaths from the disease occur. In Sudan, millions have been displaced. Families are forced into overcrowded settlements, often in areas where malaria transmission was already high. Health facilities have been damaged, looted or abandoned. Supply chains have fractured. Surveillance systems – the earl...