10 Countries That Have Serious Malaria Warnings

Malaria is prevalent in about one hundred countries around the world, and although travelers should take heed, not all of those countries have high levels of the disease in all areas. Levels vary from low to high and can be dependent on rainfall amounts and the success rate of malaria control efforts. Health care professionals advise travelers to research current risk levels for their country of choice before booking airplane tickets.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan has the fourth largest incident rate of malaria in the world. It is listed as second highest within the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean Region. There are sixty-three districts in twelve provinces in the high-risk category. The risk of malaria in Afghanistan is rated at moderate from April to December in all low-altitude regions of the country below 2,500 m. As of 2015, there have been forty-nine reported deaths and 86,895 confirmed health facility cases.

Benin

Malaria is a large health concern in this African country. Forty-four percent of outpatient visits are accredited to the disease and the illness takes the lead as the number one cause of death of the country’s children aged five and under. When the U.S. funded and launched the President’s Malaria Initiative in 2005 in an attempt to reduce global cases, Benin was one of fifteen countries to benefit from the strategy.