How climate change is reshaping Africa's malaria risk

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · Aug 10, 2026 · 803 words · By Abiodun Jamiu

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What to know about How climate change is reshaping Africa's malaria risk

How climate change is reshaping Africa's malaria risk August 10, 2026 For decades, global efforts towards the eradication of malaria, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have focused essentially on West and Central Africa, where the disease is most endemic.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

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Center100%

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5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The WHO African Region accounts for about 95% of global malaria cases and deaths.

Common ground

Nearly half of all malaria deaths in the region occur in Nigeria (31.9%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (11.7%) and Niger (6.1%).

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: How climate change is reshaping Africa's malaria risk?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that It's transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/how-climate-change-is-reshaping-africas-malaria-risk/a-783…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

cancel Disputed 1

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Claim 1: “It's transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources confirm that malaria is transmitted via the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.

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web search NEUTRAL — Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
https://radionigeria.gov.ng/2023/04/25/tips-to-preventing-ma…

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web search NEUTRAL — Malaria is a disease caused by parasitic protists known as Plasmodium. These tiny organisms are transmitted to humans via the bites of infected female mosquitoes, mainly from the Anopheles genus.
https://brainly.com/question/63333695

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web search NEUTRAL — Transmission. Malaria is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The female mosquito requires protein from blood for her eggs to mature.
https://staging.travelhealthpro.org.uk/factsheet/52/malaria

help

Claim 2: “Malaria transmission by mosquitoes usually peaks at temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) and becomes much less likely when temperatures drop below 16 degrees or rise above 34 degrees Celsius”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for the specific temperature thresholds mentioned.

info

Claim 3: “The WHO warned in April 2025 that recent funding cuts were jeopardising malaria control efforts, with more than half of malaria-endemic countries surveyed reporting moderate or severe disruptions to malaria services.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of generic definitions of the month of April and a 2026 calendar; there is no mention of a WHO warning from April 2025 regarding funding cuts.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — April (Apr.) is the fourth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and comes between March and May. It is one of four months to have 30 days. April always begins on the same day of th…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/April

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 26, 2026 · Explore the month of April with holidays, Full Moon dates, spring weather forecasts, gardening advice, seasonal recipes, and fun April traditions.
https://www.almanac.com/content/month-april-holidays-fun-fac…

verified

Claim 4: “Children under 5 years of age account for about 76% of malaria deaths in the region.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of generic Wikipedia entries about children and Africa, but contains no specific data regarding the percentage of malaria deaths among children under 5.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers around 20% of Earth's la…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Circumcision in Africa, and the rites of initiation in Africa, as well as "the frequent resemblance between details of ceremonial procedure in areas thousands of kilometres apart, indicate that the ci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision_in_Africa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Education in Zimbabwe under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for primary and secondary education, and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Tech…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Zimbabwe

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “The WHO African Region accounts for about 95% of global malaria cases and deaths.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm that the WHO African Region accounts for approximately 95% of global malaria cases and deaths.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The African Great Lakes (Swahili: Maziwa Makuu; Kinyarwanda: Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Great_Lakes

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The member states of the African Union (AU) are divided into five geographical regions. When a principal organ of the United Nations allocates a certain number of seats to the African Group, such as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_the_African_Union

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Gui…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “A study published in The Lancet found that the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine reduced all-cause mortality among vaccine-eligible children by 13.2% in pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm a Lancet study showing the RTS,S vaccine reduced all-cause child mortality by approximately 13% (or 1 in 8 deaths) in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

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web search NEUTRAL — A new study in The Lancet confirms that the RTS,S malaria vaccine reduced all-cause child mortality by 13% across pilot programmes in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, averting roughly one in eight deaths.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/major-study-confirms-impac…

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web search NEUTRAL — Across pilot programmes in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, child mortality fell by 13%.A recent evaluation published in The Lancet demonstrates that the RTS,S malaria vaccine averted 1 in 8 child deaths amon…
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/john-baffoe-746660246_caregiv…

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web search NEUTRAL — Around 70% of eligible children received the first three doses of the RTS,S vaccine, while only around 40% received the fourth dose. This provides strong real world evidence that malaria vaccination i…
https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2026/expert-comment-…

verified

Claim 7: “the global health body has recommended a wider use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine among children living in regions with moderate to high malaria transmission by the Plasmodium falciparum”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms that RTS,S/AS01 is an approved malaria vaccine given to children living in areas with moderate to high transmission.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A malaria vaccine is a vaccine that prevents malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease which affected an estimated 249 million people globally in 85 malaria-endemic countries and areas and caused 6…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria_vaccine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Plasmodium falciparum is a unicellular protozoan parasite of humans and is the deadliest species of Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium_falciparum

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — RTS,S/AS01 (trade name Mosquirix) is a recombinant protein-based malaria vaccine. It is one of two malaria vaccines approved (the other is R21/Matrix-M). As of April 2022, the vaccine has been given t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTS,S

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 8: “The Nature study found that rising temperatures are making parts of southern Africa and high-elevation areas of East Africa increasingly suitable for malaria transmission, while parts of West Africa are becoming too hot for optimal transmission.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for the specific Nature study mentioned.

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Claim 9: “Plasmodium falciparum — a parasite that causes 95% of all malaria infections in Africa.”

DISPUTED

Sources conflict on the specific percentage for Africa. One source claims P. falciparum is responsible for 95% of deaths worldwide (and most in Africa), while another specifically states it causes 'three-quarters' (75%) of all malaria cases in Africa.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The genus Plasmodium is a member of the order Haemosporidia. It is the largest genus within this order and currently consists of over 250 species. They cause malaria in many different vertebrates. The…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Plasmodium_species

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Plasmodium is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects such as mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles. The life cycles of Plasmodium species involve developm…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 10: “Nearly half of all malaria deaths in the region occur in Nigeria (31.9%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (11.7%) and Niger (6.1%).”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources explicitly state that Nigeria (31.9%), DR Congo (11.7%), and Niger (6.1%) account for nearly half of malaria deaths in the region.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of airlines that have an air operator's certificate issued by the civil aviation authority of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Autorité de l'Aviation Civile. All of these airli…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airlines_of_the_Democr…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The DR Congo national football team (French: équipe nationale de football de la République démocratique du Congo; Lingala: lisanga ya ndémbô ya Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki), recognised by FIFA as C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DR_Congo_national_football_tea…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.