In the past several years, as worldwide morbidity and mortality due to malaria have
continued to decrease, the global malaria community has grown increasingly supportive
of the idea of malaria eradication. In 2015, three noteworthy global documents were
released-the WHO's Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030, the Roll Back
Malaria Partnership's Action and Investment to defeat Malaria 2016-2030, and From
Aspiration to Action: What Will It Take to End Malaria?-that collectively advocate
for malaria elimination and eradication and outline key operational, technical, and
financial strategies to achieve progress toward malaria eradication. In light of this
remarkable change in global attitudes toward malaria elimination and eradication,
and as the malaria community debates how and when to embark on this ambitious goal,
it is important to assess current progress along the path to eradication. Although
low-income, high-burden countries are often the focus when discussing the substantial
challenges of eradication, the progress toward elimination in middle-income, low-burden
countries is a major driver of global progress and deserves better recognition. Additionally,
although global support and guidance is essential for success, malaria elimination
and eradication efforts will ultimately be driven at the country level and achieved
in a collaborative manner, region by region. In this Review, we examine the present
status of the 35 malaria-eliminating countries, summarise existing national and regional
elimination goals and the regional frameworks that support them, and identify the
most crucial enabling factors and potential barriers to achieving eradication by a
theoretical end date of 2040.