Florida recently reported something it hadn’t seen in 20 years: Locally transmitted malaria—cases spread by mosquitoes right here at home.

What’s happening in Florida isn’t an anomaly—it’s a wake-up call.

Malaria is a serious illness known to cause fevers, vomiting and extreme fatigue. While it begins with a simple mosquito bite, it can quickly turn life-threatening, especially for children, pregnant women and people with weaker immune systems.

In 2023 alone, malaria killed nearly 600,000 people around the world, most of whom were children under the age of 5.

Now, with the return of malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Florida, this disease is no longer just a distant threat—it’s at our doorstep.

In 2023:

• Dengue cases in Florida more than doubled
• Cases of West Nile virus increased, especially during the summer
• Other mosquito-borne illnesses, like malaria, are showing up earlier and lasting longer into the year

This isn’t just a Florida story, it’s a national one. Each year, about 2,000 malaria cases are imported into the United States.

To keep our families safe at home, we need to continue U.S. leadership in global health.

Disease patterns are shifting and malaria is on the move.

Across the country, we’re seeing changes in when and where mosquito-borne diseases appear.

All dengue cases by jurisdiction of residence of U.S. states and territories

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Global health Starts at Home

The fight against mosquitoes is a global one, but it starts in our own backyard. Diseases carried by mosquitoes are opportunistic and the more effectively we fight the disease abroad, the safer we are here at home. That’s why U.S. investments in global health matter.

Through investments in the Global Fund partnership, the U.S. helps build resilient disease detection and response systems worldwide—enabling faster, smarter action against mosquito-borne illnesses, which protects Americans too.

• Global Fund-supported detection systems and laboratories overseas mean earlier warnings for U.S. health agencies.
• Investments in research and innovation accelerate the development of life-saving prevention tools, treatments and diagnostics we use both domestically and abroad.
• Collaboration across countries builds public health defenses that benefit everyone.

Thanks to decades of American leadership in the Global Fund partnership, we’ve seen real, measurable results.

Billions of malaria cases have been averted, millions of malaria-related deaths have been prevented and new tools developed by American companies are now being used around the world.

But progress is fragile. Pulling back now means risking the return of diseases we’ve fought hard to control—both abroad and right here in the U.S.