PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — A promising health trend is emerging in Puerto Princesa as malaria cases among children aged 0 to 5 years old decline in 2026, offering a potential boost to child health and easing the financial burden on families.
The development was highlighted during a malaria and dengue awareness activity in the city, where Mary Jane Rojo, project officer of Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI), said the decline among young children is an encouraging sign, particularly because malaria can place significant health and economic pressure on families.
According to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), children in the 0-to-5 age group are particularly important to monitor because severe malaria can rapidly become dangerous when diagnosis and treatment are delayed.
Why the decline among children matters
Rojo noted that malaria infections among very young children can mean additional hospital expenses for families, particularly because children at that age may have difficulty communicating what they are experiencing.
The health gains go beyond avoiding hospitalization.
Repeated or severe illness can interfere with a child’s nutrition, development and ability to participate normally in everyday activities. Reducing malaria infections among young children therefore represents more than simply lowering the number of cases—it can also help protect household finances and children’s overall well-being.
The World Health Organization identifies children under five as one of the groups at higher risk of severe malaria. The disease is preventable and curable, but untreated infections can progress to serious complications.
Puerto Princesa still recording malaria cases
Despite the encouraging trend among young children, malaria has not disappeared from Puerto Princesa.
The city’s City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) reported 58 malaria cases as of July 31, 2026. PIA reported that around 30 of these cases involved individuals with travel histories, while 23 were identified as endemic cases in malaria-risk areas.
The numbers also show why authorities continue to focus on people whose work or movement takes them into areas where malaria transmission remains possible.
PIA reported that, from 2021 to 2025, people aged 18 and above accounted for the largest share of malaria cases in the city. Patients included travelers and migrants from northern and southern parts of Palawan.
Men remain particularly exposed
Another notable pattern involves gender and occupation.
According to the PIA report, roughly 70% of people who tested positive for malaria were men, with officials linking the higher exposure partly to work that takes people into mountainous areas and other potential mosquito-breeding sites.
This is why health authorities are urging workers who enter malaria-risk areas to undergo a blood smear test as soon as possible when exposure or symptoms raise concern.
Early diagnosis matters because malaria can initially look like an ordinary feverish illness. WHO lists symptoms such as fever, chills and headache, while severe disease can involve confusion, seizures and difficulty breathing.
Palawan remains the country’s key malaria battleground
The encouraging situation among young children in Puerto Princesa must also be viewed against a larger reality: Palawan remains central to the Philippines’ malaria-elimination campaign.
Recent Philippine health reporting has consistently identified Palawan as the country’s remaining area of active malaria transmission, while other regions have maintained malaria-free status. In 2025, PIA reported that Northern Mindanao, for example, had remained malaria-free since 2019, with any detected cases described as imported rather than locally transmitted.
The Philippines has made substantial progress over the years. The government has maintained a national goal of eliminating malaria by 2030, while WHO continues to support accelerated malaria-elimination efforts in Palawan.
But progress has not been perfectly linear.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. reported that the Department of Health’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine recorded 6,248 malaria cases in 2023, up from 3,245 in 2022, representing a 90% increase. At the same time, 72 of the country’s 82 provinces had been declared malaria-free in 2024, illustrating the uneven distribution of the disease nationwide.
A warning hidden behind the good news
More recent reporting shows why officials are reluctant to declare victory.
A June 2026 report on the first half of the year said malaria infections across MIMAROPA increased by 21%, with Palawan accounting for the overwhelming majority of reported cases. The report placed Palawan at more than 1,300 cases as of June 20, underscoring that the province remains the country’s primary challenge in eliminating local transmission.
That makes the decline among children in Puerto Princesa significant—but it should not be interpreted as proof that malaria has been eliminated from the city or province.
Instead, it provides a reason to strengthen the measures that appear to be protecting the most vulnerable age group.
What families should remember
Malaria is transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. It does not spread like a common respiratory infection from person to person.
Health authorities continue to emphasize early testing and treatment, particularly for people who have been in malaria-risk areas.
Families and workers can also reduce exposure by avoiding mosquito bites, using appropriate repellents and protective clothing, and following local health advisories.
The Philippine government’s malaria strategy is ultimately aimed at making today’s encouraging trends permanent—not just for children in Puerto Princesa, but for communities throughout Palawan and the rest of the country.
The decline among children aged 0 to 5 may be one of the clearest signs yet that prevention and early intervention can make a difference. But with malaria transmission still active in Palawan, the bigger question remains: can the Philippines turn this progress into the elimination of the disease by 2030?
For now, the answer will depend on sustained surveillance, rapid diagnosis, treatment and continued protection of communities most exposed to malaria.
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