U.S. Backs Cambodia’s Final Push Toward Malaria-Free Status by 2030

PHNOM PENH, May 12, 2026 (KPT) — The United States has reaffirmed support for Cambodia’s drive to eliminate malaria and secure malaria‑free certification by 2030, as the country reports zero new locally transmitted cases since September 2025, officials said Tuesday.

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh said a bipartisan delegation of congressional staff visited Siem Reap Provincial Referral Hospital on May 6 to assess ongoing American assistance. The visit formed part of a May 2–9 trip focused on global health cooperation and disease surveillance.

According to the embassy, U.S. programs are strengthening laboratory capacity for early detection, diagnosis, treatment and reporting to help prevent malaria transmission in high‑tourism areas before cases spread regionally or internationally.

The World Health Organization has long identified Cambodia as a center of resistance to multiple anti‑malarial medicines, including the emergence of artemisinin resistance in the Greater Mekong subregion in 2006.

In response, Cambodia’s National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control launched an intensified elimination strategy in 2018 targeting high‑risk populations and strengthening provincial interventions.

Health officials said Cambodia has recorded zero locally transmitted cases since Sept. 8, 2025, making it the first country in the Greater Mekong subregion to achieve its elimination targets ahead of schedule. They cited three milestones: eliminating malaria‑related deaths, ending drug‑resistant malaria and reducing all local transmission to zero by the end of 2025.

The WHO noted adult men entering forested areas remain among the highest‑risk groups, with preventive treatment and village‑based monitoring expanded to protect vulnerable populations.