The Last Mile: Doubling Down on Squashing Malaria

As the Southeast Asian country is close to wiping out malaria completely, healthcare workers are hard at work to eliminate the mosquito-borne infectious disease in what is the Philippines’ last stronghold in the mountains.

“But it’s like we’re running a marathon,” explains Ray Angluben, who oversees the malaria program at the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, which is part of the country’s Movement Against Malaria coalition. “In a marathon at the 41^st kilometer, you don’t stop running. That’s where we are. We can’t stop, the finish line is in sight.”

Out of 82 provinces, Palawan is the only remaining malaria transmission zone. In the foothills of Mount Mantalingajan – a 2,086-meter-tall peak only accessible by foot – malaria cases have leapt again in 2023 as heavy rain and intense heat provided the perfect conditions for mosquitoes to breed. As the Plasmodium parasite cannot exist for long outside a human host, it is possible to eradicate the disease. Isolating infected people is crucial to curbing the spread as it is easier to identify and treat infected persons and prevent transmission than eradicating mosquitoes. Instead of vaccines, healthcare workers will administer an antimalarial – once a month for three months – to everyone in Palawan, regardless of their malaria status. Last year, Azerbaijan, Belize, Cape Verde, and Tajikistan eliminated malaria transmission, and the Philippines is keen to join that list. “We will get there; I am confident we will get there. It’s a when, not an if.”