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Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026...change-drive-deadly-malaria-surge-in-zimbabwe
Aid cuts and climate change drive deadly malaria surge in Zimbabwe
A surge in malaria cases in Zimbabwe is exposing fragile health systems and growing treatment shortages in rural areas.
By Farai Shawn Matiashe
Published On 28 May 202628 May 2026
Harare, Zimbabwe – Precious Mvundura woke up with joint pain, a high fever and a pounding headache on a chilly autumn morning in eastern Zimbabwe.
The 37-year-old initially thought it was just the flu. But when the headache persisted for three days, she became worried.
Her five-year-old son had also fallen ill and was sweating heavily.
In early May, the pair sought help from a village health worker in Chishakwe, a rural farming community outside Zimbabwe’s third-largest city, Mutare. Both tested positive for malaria.
“I felt relieved,” Mvundura told Al Jazeera.
“From the moment I took that medication, I started getting better.”
Her son has also recovered and is back in school.
Their ordeal comes as malaria cases and deaths surge across Zimbabwe after US funding cuts disrupted key malaria control programmes...
...Malaria cases jumped to 65,399 between January and April 2026, up from 36,000 recorded during the same period in 2025 and 17,000 in 2024, according to Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health National Malaria Control Programme weekly surveillance report.
Deaths have also risen sharply, reaching 174 between January and April 2026, compared with 85 during the same period last year and 34 in 2024...
Aid cuts and climate change drive deadly malaria surge in Zimbabwe
A surge in malaria cases in Zimbabwe is exposing fragile health systems and growing treatment shortages in rural areas.
By Farai Shawn Matiashe
Published On 28 May 202628 May 2026
Harare, Zimbabwe – Precious Mvundura woke up with joint pain, a high fever and a pounding headache on a chilly autumn morning in eastern Zimbabwe.
The 37-year-old initially thought it was just the flu. But when the headache persisted for three days, she became worried.
Her five-year-old son had also fallen ill and was sweating heavily.
In early May, the pair sought help from a village health worker in Chishakwe, a rural farming community outside Zimbabwe’s third-largest city, Mutare. Both tested positive for malaria.
“I felt relieved,” Mvundura told Al Jazeera.
“From the moment I took that medication, I started getting better.”
Her son has also recovered and is back in school.
Their ordeal comes as malaria cases and deaths surge across Zimbabwe after US funding cuts disrupted key malaria control programmes...
...Malaria cases jumped to 65,399 between January and April 2026, up from 36,000 recorded during the same period in 2025 and 17,000 in 2024, according to Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health National Malaria Control Programme weekly surveillance report.
Deaths have also risen sharply, reaching 174 between January and April 2026, compared with 85 during the same period last year and 34 in 2024...