The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) announced plans to expand its partnerships to include Burundi, The Gambia, and Togo on World Malaria Day 2023, according to a press release from United to Beat Malaria. This expansion brings the total number of PMI partner countries to 30, with 27 located in sub-Saharan Africa and three in Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong subregion.
The decision to include the three new African nations was announced by U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator Dr. David Walton, who stated that partnering with Burundi, The Gambia, and Togo would enable PMI to “reduce malaria cases and deaths by bringing life saving tools and treatments to more of those in need.” The initiative, co-implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), collaborates with partner country governments and national malaria programs to implement malaria control activities.
Margaret Reilly McDonnell, Executive Director of United to Beat Malaria, highlighted the significance of the expansion, stating it was “a significant step forward in the fight against malaria, and a testament to the longstanding bipartisan support from Congress and the persistent advocacy of grassroots malaria champions and partners.” She noted that the expansion was made possible by $795 million in PMI funding for Fiscal Year 2023, a $20 million increase from the previous year, and called on Congress to sustain or strengthen PMI funding in Fiscal Year 2024.
According to a KFF dashboard monitoring progress toward global malaria targets in PMI countries, the addition of Burundi, The Gambia, and Togo occurred in 2023. The dashboard, updated as of February 11, 2026, utilizes data from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Malaria Report 2025. The 30 PMI partner countries collectively account for approximately 90% of the global malaria burden.
Dr. Walton emphasized the importance of regional collaboration, stating, “Mosquitoes don’t respect borders. Expanding to additional countries in the West and East Africa corridors would provide increased protection from malaria for people in both new and existing partner countries.” He also noted that the expansion would allow PMI to leverage existing U.S. Government investments, including those in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The planned additions represent the first expansion of the PMI since 2017, when Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Sierra Leone joined the initiative as partner countries. Since 2000, PMI has reportedly helped save 11.7 million lives and prevented over 2 billion malaria infections.
Fiscal year (FY) 2024 Malaria Operational Plans (MOPs) are now available online for all PMI partner countries, including Togo, Burundi, and The Gambia, according to a recent bulletin from USAID PMI.
