Each year on 6 November, SADC Malaria Day reminds us that while progress has been made, the fight against malaria is far from over. It highlights the collective strength of a region determined to eliminate the disease. Malaria control is more than a technical or medical challenge – it is a test of leadership, collaboration and health system resilience, strengthened by science and technology.

Malaria in the SADC region

Across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), malaria remains a major public health concern. An estimated 75% of the region’s population lives in at-risk areas, and in some member states, the disease accounts for up to a third of outpatient visits and hospital admissions. Children under five and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. Economically, malaria constrains development, affecting workforce productivity, tourism and agriculture, while increasing health system and private sector costs.

Malaria transmission across SADC is uneven. Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and South Africa have lower transmission and are approaching elimination, while Mozambique, Angola, Malawi, Zambia and the DRC continue to face high burdens. Cross-border transmission, driven by mobility and shared ecosystems, puts all countries at risk. These realities highlight the need for strong, adaptive leadership and resilient systems that can sustain gains and protect communities.

Why leadership matters

Many malaria-endemic areas face weak health systems, logistical challenges and supply shortages. Cross-border importation threatens elimination progress, while complacency and underfunding risk resurgence. Changing climate patterns also demand adaptive responses.

For malaria elimination, visionary leadership, proper management, and governance are as crucial as scientific innovation. Resilient systems are built by people who can motivate teams, mobilise communities and foster collaboration across borders. Technical capacity has grown in malaria programmes, but leadership capacity often lags behind. Strengthening it is essential to transform progress into elimination.

Strong leaders do more than manage; they inspire, coordinate and innovate. They motivate health workers during outbreaks, engage communities to accept interventions and sustain political commitment long after donor attention fades. Leadership transforms strategy into action and ensures continuity amid uncertainty. Leadership, management and governance are critical tools with impact.

Building capacity for resilient systems

True resilience must be cultivated from within. Leadership development has therefore become central to malaria elimination in the SADC region. Leaders must integrate science with strategy, empathy with execution and vision with collaboration. Because malaria transmission varies widely, leaders need adaptable, systems-based approaches tailored to local and cross-border contexts.

Since 2022, the University of Pretoria Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control (UP ISMC), in partnership with the Gordon Institute of Business Science and other stakeholders, have been running a malaria leadership, management and governance course for national malaria control programme managers and officers from eight SADC countries – Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Malawi was added to the mix in 2025. The one-year course is presented simultaneously in English and Portuguese.

This transdisciplinary course goes beyond technical training and the science of malaria, equipping participants with the skills to lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams, strengthen programme management and decision-making, engage communities with effectiveness, and build cross-border partnerships to address shared challenges.

Equally important, the programme creates a network of alumni leaders – a regional community that can continue to share experiences, discuss best practices, exchange data and drive collaborative projects across national boundaries. These relationships are the essence of regional resilience, collaboration and cooperation, ensuring that no country fights malaria in isolation.

Malaria knows no boundaries, and neither should leadership. Regional success depends on cross-border coordination in shared transmission zones. Effective leaders understand that one country’s progress also relies on its neighbours. Collaboration includes synchronising surveillance, aligning vector control efforts and jointly engaging border communities. Such collaboration is what SADC Malaria Day celebrates; it’s a reminder that malaria elimination is a shared regional goal, achievable only when countries act together.

Empowering communities through leadership

Resilient health systems depend on resilient communities, where malaria is confronted daily. Leaders at all levels, from national programme directors to village health workers, shape community responses. When they engage communities through listening, collaboration and trust, interventions become more effective and sustainable.

Leadership training promotes inclusive, community-driven approaches that empower individuals to become advocates for their own health. When communities are treated as partners rather than passive recipients, interventions such as indoor residual spraying and bed net distribution achieve greater acceptance and long-term impact.

A call to lead together

As the SADC region observes Malaria Day, it is vital to recognise the role of leadership in advancing progress. SADC member states continue to reaffirm domestic funding commitments and emphasise cross-border cooperation. Science and innovation provide the tools, but leadership determines their impact.

Investing in leadership, management and governance strengthens not only individuals but entire systems, ensuring malaria programmes can adapt, health systems withstand setbacks and communities thrive. The experience of the UP ISMC and its partners shows that when malaria professionals gain leadership skills, they return as catalysts for change, building stronger systems, improving coordination and inspiring belief that elimination is within reach.

SADC Malaria Day is not just a commemoration, but a call to collaborative leadership at every level. Every manager, policymaker, health worker and partner plays a role in shaping a resilient, malaria-free future. Leadership is not a position, but an act of service, collaboration and vision, and is what will carry the region to elimination.