In northern Cameroon, the family of nine-month-old Mohamat lost their child to malaria after days of high fever. The local clinic could not provide the treatment he needed, reflecting a wider crisis now unfolding across the country.
Aid Withdrawal Leaves Gaps in Care
For years, U.S.-supported community health workers formed the backbone of Cameroon’s malaria fight. They delivered bed nets, identified severe infections early, and directed patients to health facilities.
That network has largely collapsed. More than 2,100 of the 2,354 workers serving the Far North region stopped operating in early 2025, following cuts in U.S. assistance. The lack of trained personnel has slowed diagnosis and left children more vulnerable.
Shortages of Life-Saving Drugs
Clinics that once benefited from international supply chains now face empty shelves. Injectable artesunate, the standard treatment for severe malaria in children, is often unavailable. Without it, doctors and nurses cannot intervene in time.
U.S. Policy Shift
The President’s Malaria Initiative, once responsible for more than a third of global malaria funding, ended much of its support after 2023. A waiver in February helped some programs survive, but aid disruptions continued after the dissolution of USAID.
Washington’s proposed 2026 budget includes a 47% reduction in malaria funding from $800 million down to $420 million a decision that, if approved, could further weaken African health systems.
Cameroon Officials Sound Alarm
Prosper Laurent Messe Fouda, who directs Cameroon’s National Malaria Control Programme, confirmed that the country’s northern regions have been hardest hit. He noted that families now wait longer before bringing children to clinics, a delay that increases the risk of death.
Reversing Progress
Globally, malaria still kills more than 600,000 people every year, most of them children in Africa. Health experts warn that without urgent action, recent progress against the disease will be undone.
A Call for Support
Cameroon is now seeking new international partners to close the funding gap. Officials stress that without immediate intervention, child mortality will continue to climb.
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