Increasing malaria in disadvantaged areas threatens Vietnam’s progressVietnam has been making great strides to move from malaria control towards elimination of the disease, but increasing malaria in disadvantaged areas is threatening the country’s overall progress. According to the World Malaria Report 2017 by the World Health Organisation, the global progress against malaria appeared to have stalled after many years of great public health achievements in response to the disease. Without urgent action, countries risk going backwards and missing the global malaria targets for 2020 and beyond. In 2017, the number of malaria cases dropped by 35.4 percent from 2016. Binh Phuoc was the country’s most heavily-affected province with 738 malaria cases, up 70 percent from the same period of 2017.