In its annual report on the disease, the agency says the number of cases and deaths has remained largely unchanged in the past two years, in contrast to the dramatic falls seen since the turn of the century.

Malaria kills about 400,000 people every year, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

It's feared that a shortage of funds for anti-malaria programmes will be worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

Efforts to control the mosquito-borne disease are also being threatened by growing resistance to some drugs.