In Venezuela, there has been a persistent increase in cases since 2000 and even more so since 2015 due to economic and political mismanagement and Guyana recorded an increase in the proportion of P. According to the WHO report, malaria cases in Colombia nearly doubled in 2016 compared to 2015, despite an earlier reduction in Peru cases have also been rising steadily since 2011, which has resulted in a loss of the gains achieved since 2000. In 2016, Venezuela (34.4%) and Brazil (18%) together accounted for more than 50% of the total reported cases, followed by Colombia (15.3%) and Peru (14.3%). This was mainly due to the situation in Venezuela. Of the 18 endemic countries of Latin America, nine showed an increase in cases of more than 20% compared to 2015, whereas the highest percentage increase (36%) of change in case incidence rate took place in 2014–2016. However, malaria is still an important public health concern in the whole Neotropical region, more so during 2016, when a substantial increase in case incidence (875,000) was estimated.

The main strategies used have been rapid diagnosis, treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), indoor residual spraying (IRS), and insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) or long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs). Significant advances were made in most of the endemic countries in Latin America, particularly from 2000 to 2015, when the incidence of cases declined by 62% (1,181,095 in 2000 to 451,242 in 2015) and malaria-related deaths by 61.2% (410 to 159). The World Health Organization (WHO) has established a well-delineated and ambitious plan for control and elimination of the disease by 2030, with a mid-term 2020 global target of reduction of at least 40% in malaria case incidence and malaria mortality rate. Malaria transmission control and eventual elimination is one of the greatest worldwide challenges in public health. The only rational pathway to malaria elimination is sustained nation-level financial support that does not fall prey to political vicissitudes.

To add to Venezuela’s political and financial woes, malaria continues to increase, such that, 300,189 cases were reported by the end of week 42, 2017. A globally funded malaria control program in Peru from 2005 to 2010 resulted in appreciable reduction in the annual parasitic incidence down to 1/1000 by 2011–2012, but soon after, the annual malaria incidence began to rise and by the end of 2017, there were 53,261 reported cases. Similarly, despite a strong record and major recognition for reducing malaria, in 2017, Brazil has seen a resurgence of malaria cases, but no increase in the proportion of Plasmodium falciparum to P. In Colombia, since 2015 at the cessation of a five-year globally funded malaria program, both incidence and proportion of Plasmodium falciparum infections have increased, mainly due to the budget constraints. During the 10-year period (2005–2015) when global malaria incidence was dramatically reduced, Brazil and Colombia were an integral part of this trend, on track to meet the mid-term 2020 goal established by the World Health Organization. Four countries (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela) together contributed ~80% of the 875,000 malaria cases reported in the Latin American region (2016).

Malaria transmitted