94,610 malaria cases occurred in Indonesia in 2021.

Malaria has long been one of the leading causes of death worldwide, including in Indonesia. According to data from the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), the total number of malaria cases in Indonesia reached 94,610 in 2021.

Malaria cases in 2021 decreased by 58.2% compared to the previous year, which reached 226,364 cases. Looking at the trend, since 2018, malaria cases in Indonesia have tended to decrease. However, malaria cases increased in 2019, reaching 250,628 cases. Then, cases decreased in 2020 and decreased again in 2021.

The highest number of malaria cases is still concentrated in eastern Indonesia. Papua is the province with the highest number of malaria cases in the country, reaching 86,022 cases to date. The proportion of malaria cases in that province reaches 90.9% of the total.

This is followed by East Nusa Tenggara with 2,393 malaria cases (2.5%). After that is West Papua with 1,841 malaria cases (1.94%).

Meanwhile, Bengkulu, Banten, and Yogyakarta are the provinces with the lowest number of malaria cases. Currently, Bengkulu is a province free from malaria cases. In Banten, there was only 1 malaria case (0.001%), and in Yogyakarta there were only 4 malaria cases (0.004%).

Malaria should be a significant focus in global health because the average annual number of cases reaches hundreds of thousands. The Ministry of Health urges the Indonesian people to prevent malaria by cleaning their surroundings with running water, releasing mosquito-eating fish, covering water containers, sleeping under mosquito nets, and avoiding nighttime activities near water sources.