The Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication

The Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication was convened in October 2017 to consider the feasibility, affordability, and merit of malaria eradication, to inform global opinion, and to identify priority actions to achieve eradication. Countries and regions face many pressing health and development challenges, of which malaria is just one. Thus, a 21st century commitment to malaria eradication must be justified based on solid evidence that malaria eradication is achievable within a defined time period; that it is worthwhile, in relation to societal benefits and the return on investment; and that the alternative to eradication is untenable.

The Commission’s report, published in September 2019, synthesizes existing evidence with new epidemiological and financial analyses to demonstrate that malaria eradication by 2050 is a bold but attainable and necessary goal. In the report—the first academic, peer-reviewed document of its kind—the Commission examines the major operational, biological, and financial challenges on the path to eradication and identifies key solutions that will enable the global malaria community to bend the curve and achieve a world free of malaria within a generation. The Commission also emphasizes the substantial social and economic benefits of malaria eradication, together with its mutually reinforcing relationship with universal health coverage and global health security.