Cambodia is edging ever closer to official malaria-free certification from the World Health Organization, according to local media. Officials at the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control say the country is firmly on track to wipe out the disease completely by 2030.
The numbers tell a dramatic story. Cambodia hasn’t recorded a single malaria death since 2018. Last year, the entire country logged just 52 cases—and zero deaths—marking a drop of more than 80 percent from the year before. It is a world away from the old days, when nearly 200,000 people fell ill each year and hundreds died.
In Cambodia’s hot, sticky climate, high fever and shivering chills used to be a terrifying reality for anyone living or working in remote provinces and dense forests. Officials say the national elimination campaign has slashed overall cases by over 90 percent. Back in 2011, malaria claimed 93 lives. By 2018, the death toll hit zero, and it has stayed there ever since.
Even so, health authorities are warning people not to drop their guard, especially those heading into deep jungle or mountain areas for work or travel. Anyone staying overnight in worker shelters or temporary rentals is advised to hang insecticide-treated nets and use mosquito repellent. If you start coming down with fever and chills, get to a clinic for a rapid test right away rather than trying to tough it out.
Sitting around street-side coffee stalls, locals say the change is palpable. The mosquitoes are still out in force, but it has been a long time since anyone heard of a neighbor catching deadly malaria.
