The Mozambican health authorities diagnosed 9.4 million cases of malaria in the first nine months of this year, according to Health Minister Armindo Tiago. This was an increase of 20 per cent on the 7.8 million cases diagnosed in the same period in 2021.

Speaking in Maputo on 23 November at a meeting of the National Malaria Control Programme Tiago said this rise "reflects greater diagnostic capacity and greater reporting of cases through expanded testing services, including in the community through village health workers". But there had also been "a deterioration in environmental conditions, favouring the multiplication of mosquitoes, resulting from climate change", added the Minister.

While the number of malaria cases has increased, the lethality rate from the disease has declined. Tiago said that 15 per cent fewer people died of malaria this year than in 2021. Nonetheless, "malaria remains a serious public health problem", he stressed, "and it interferes in economic and social development, perpetuating the cycle of disease and poverty. It is therefore a priority for the government".

Tiago warned of an eventual increase in the number of malaria cases in the rainy season and called for preventive measures such as the use of insecticide-treated bed nets.