Data-driven decision making in malaria control: the role of AI in the public health policy

Authors

  • Sweta Bhan ICMR- National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
  • Ayushi Singh School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Pankaj U. Ramteke Tai Golwalkar Mahavidhyalaya, Ramtek, RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
  • Amruthraj Radhakrishnan Public Health International Health Division, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20262768

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, Disease surveillance, Global health, Malaria control, Machine learning, Public health policy

Abstract

Malaria endures a significant part in public health concern, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Traditional malaria control methods often face limitations with surveillance, diagnosis and efficient resource allocation. This review explores the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in augmenting data-driven decision-making for malaria control and elimination efforts, focusing on surveillance systems, enhancing the effectiveness of intervention strategies and optimizing the resource allocations. AI technologies, mainly machine learning algorithms and computer vision systems, demonstrate significant potential in improving malaria control outcomes. Key findings include increased accuracy in outbreak prediction, improved diagnostic precision through automated microscopy and optimized resource allocation reducing response times. Additionally, deep learning models are emerging as promising tools in identifying drug resistance patterns and personalizing treatment protocols. AI integration in malaria control programs offers substantial benefits for public health decision-making. In this article, we conducted a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature, analyzing AI applications in malaria control across key domains such as surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and resource management. However, effective implementation requires robust data infrastructure, ethical frameworks addressing algorithmic bias and sustained international collaboration. Future directions prioritize equitable access, capacity building and development of standardized evaluation metrics for evaluating AI-driven interventions.

 

References

Bhan S, Sharma AK, Thomas TG, Singh R. Entomological assessment of malaria outbreak in Bareilly and Budaun districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. 53 Int J Mosq Res. 2020;7(5):874.

World Health Organization. WHO guidelines for malaria. 2024.

Bhatt S, Weiss DJ, Cameron E, et al. The effect of malaria control on Plasmodium falciparum in Africa between 2000 and 2015. Nature. 2015;526(7572):207-11.

Hemingway J, Ranson H, Magill A. Averting a malaria disaster: will insecticide resistance derail malaria control. Lancet Lond Engl. 2016;387(10029):1785-8.

Oladipo HJ, Tajudeen YA, Oladunjoye IO. Increasing challenges of malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa: Priorities for public health research and policymakers. Ann Med Surg. 2022;81:104366.

Whittaker M, Smith C. Reimagining malaria: five reasons to strengthen community engagement in the lead up to malaria elimination. Malar J. 2015;14:410.

V’kovski P, Kratzel A, Steiner S, Stalder H, Thiel V. Coronavirus biology and replication: implications for SARS-CoV-2. Nature Rev Microbiol. 2021;19(3):155-70.

Kumar A, Valecha N, Jain T, Dash AP. Burden of Malaria in India: Retrospective and Prospective View. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2007;77(6):69-78.

Rajvanshi H, Singh MP, Bharti PK. Science of malaria elimination: using knowledge of bottlenecks and enablers from the Malaria Elimination Demonstration Project in Central India for eliminating malaria in the Asia Pacific region. Front Public Health. 2024;11:1303095.

Topol EJ. High-performance medicine: the convergence of human and artificial intelligence. Nat Med. 2019;25(1):44-56.

Esteva A, Robicquet A, Ramsundar B. A guide to deep learning in healthcare. Nat Med. 2019;25(1):24-9.

Rajkomar A, Dean J, Kohane I. Machine Learning in Medicine. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(14):1347-58.

Benke K, Benke G. Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Public Health. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(12):2796.

Kamilaris A, Prenafeta-Boldú FX. Deep learning in agriculture: A survey. Comput Electron Agric. 2018;147:70-90.

Ogbaga I. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Solution to Malaria Fatalities In Africa: An Exploratory Review. Computer Science and Mathematics. 2023.

Alaran MA, Lawal SK, Jiya MH. Challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence in African health space. Digit Health. 2025;11:205915.

Et. Al. YAA. Malaria Prediction Model Using Machine Learning Algorithms. Turk J Comput Math Educ Turcomat. 2021;12(10):7488-96.

Muriithi DK, Lumumba VW, Awe OO, Muriithi DM. An Explainable Artificial Intelligence Models for Predicting Malaria Risk in Kenya. Eur J Artif Intell Mach Learn. 2025;4(1):1-8.

Khan O, Ajadi JO, Hossain MP. Predicting malaria outbreak in The Gambia using machine learning techniques. PloS One. 2024;19(5):99386.

Nkiruka O, Prasad R, Clement O. Prediction of malaria incidence using climate variability and machine learning. Inform Med Unlocked. 2021;22:100508.

Vij P, Prashant PM. Novel AI-driven Malaria Prediction for Optimizing Public Health Management. South East Eur J Public Health. Published online September 2, 2024:413-8.

Alowais SA, Alghamdi SS, Alsuhebany N. Revolutionizing healthcare: the role of artificial intelligence in clinical practice. BMC Med Educ. 2023;23(1):689.

Libbrecht MW, Noble WS. Machine learning applications in genetics and genomics. Nat Rev Genet. 2015;16(6):321-32.

Serrano DR, Luciano FC, Anaya BJ. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Applications in Drug Discovery and Drug Delivery: Revolutionizing Personalized Medicine. Pharmaceutics. 2024;16(10):1328.

Lyutsova E, Pavlova K, Gospodinova M, Radkova D. The integration of artificial intelligence in malaria control and surveillance. Scr Sci Medica. 2024;56(4):15.

Muriithi DK, Lumumba VW, Awe OO, Muriithi DM. An Explainable Artificial Intelligence Models for Predicting Malaria Risk in Kenya. Eur J Artif Intell Mach Learn. 2025;4(1):1-8.

Muriithi D, Lumumba V, Okongo M. A Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Malaria Occurrence in Kenya. Am J Theor Appl Stat. 2024;13(4):65-72.

Chidoluo Vitus O. The impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare delivery in nigeria. Winsome Publishing LLC, ed. New Healthc Adv Explor. 2024;01(2):1-3.

Mirugwe A. Adoption of artificial intelligence in the Ugandan health sector: a review of literature. International J Biomed Res. 2023;17:23.

Larocca A, Moro Visconti R, Marconi M. Malaria diagnosis and mapping with m-Health and geographic information systems (GIS): evidence from Uganda. Malar J. 2016;15(1):520.

Ford CT, Janies D. Ensemble machine learning modeling for the prediction of artemisinin resistance in malaria. F1000Research. 2020;9:62.

Pley C, Evans M, Lowe R, Montgomery H, Yacoub S. Digital and technological innovation in vector-borne disease surveillance to predict, detect and control climate-driven outbreaks. Lancet Planet Health. 2021;5(10):739-45.

Alqahtani T, Badreldin HA, Alrashed M. The emergent role of artificial intelligence, natural learning processing and large language models in higher education and research. Res Soc Adm Pharm. 2023;19(8):1236-42.

Chanh HQ, Ming D, Nguyen QH. Applying artificial intelligence and digital health technologies, Viet Nam. Bull World Health Organ. 2023;101(07):487-92.

Goel K, Chaudhuri S, Saxena A. India’s strategy on surveillance system- A paradigm shift from an Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) to an Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2022;15:101030.

Nema S, Rahi M, Sharma A, Bharti PK. Strengthening malaria microscopy using artificial intelligence-based approaches in India. Lancet Reg Health - Southeast Asia. 2022;5:100054.

Prakash Nayak P, Pai B. J, Govindan S. Leveraging geographic information system for dengue surveillance: a scoping review. Trop Med Health. 2025;53(1):102.

Mopuri R, Kadiri MR, Bhimala KR, Mutheneni SR. Identification of malaria vulnerable zones in North East Region of India: Spatiotemporal assessment through geographical information system and self-organizing maps. Acta Trop. 2025;270:107783.

Zuhair V, Babar A, Ali R. Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Global Health and Enhancing Healthcare in Developing Nations. J Prim Care Community Health. 2024;15:21545847.

Oladipo EK, Adeyemo SF, Oluwasanya GJ. Impact and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Integration in the African Health Sector: A Review. Trends Med Res. 2024;19(1):220-35.

Yadav N, Pandey S, Gupta A, Dudani P, Gupta S, Rangarajan K. Data Privacy in Healthcare: In the Era of Artificial Intelligence. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2023;14(6):788-92.

Rajkomar A, Hardt M, Howell MD, Corrado G, Chin MH. Ensuring Fairness in Machine Learning to Advance Health Equity. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169(12):866-72.

Obermeyer Z, Powers B, Vogeli C, Mullainathan S. Dissecting racial bias in an algorithm used to manage the health of populations. Science. 2019;366(6464):447-53.

Vezyridis P, Timmons S. Resisting big data exploitations in public healthcare: free riding or distributive justice. Soc Health Illn. 2019;41(8):1585-99.

Samek W, Wiegand T, Müller KR. Explainable artificial intelligence: understanding, visualizing and interpreting deep learning models. 2017;(1):34.

Morley J, Machado CCV, Burr C. The ethics of AI in health care: A mapping review. Soc Sci Med. 2020;260:113172.

Dankwa-Mullan I. Health equity and ethical considerations in using artificial intelligence in public health and medicine. Prev Chronic Dis. 2024;21:64.

Western MJ, Smit ES, Gültzow T. Bridging the digital health divide: a narrative review of the causes, implications and solutions for digital health inequalities. Health Psychol Behav Med. 2025;13(1):2493139.

Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025. 1st ed. World Health Organization. 2021.

Ristevski B, Chen M. Big Data Analytics in Medicine and Healthcare. J Integr Bioinforma. 2018;15(3):20170030.

Macfarlane SB, AbouZahr C, eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Global Health Data Methods for Policy and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 2019;2:279.

Longoni C, Bonezzi A, Morewedge CK. Resistance to medical artificial intelligence. J Consum Res. 2019;46(4):629-50.

Yun T, Zhang L. International Partnerships in AI-driven healthcare: opportunities and challenges for advancing the UN sustainable development goals—a perspective. Healthcare. 2025;13(16):2053.

Geneva Tamunobarafiri Igwama, Ejike Innocent Nwankwo, Ebube Victor Emeihe, Mojeed Dayo Ajegbile. The role of community health workers in implementing AI-based health solutions in rural areas. Int J Biol Pharm Res Updat. 2024;4(1):1-7.

Wibowo MF, Pyle A, Lim E, Ohde JW, Liu N, Karlström J. Insights into the current and future state of ai adoption within health systems in Southeast Asia: cross-sectional qualitative study. J Med Internet Res. 2025;27:71591.

Brinkel J, Krämer A, Krumkamp R, May J, Fobil J. Mobile phone-based mHealth approaches for public health surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014;11(11):11559-82.

Lee D, Yoon SN. Application of Artificial Intelligence-Based Technologies in the Healthcare Industry: Opportunities and Challenges. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(1):271.

Panteli D, Adib K, Buttigieg S. Artificial intelligence in public health: promises, challenges and an agenda for policy makers and public health institutions. Lancet Publ Health. 2025;10(5):e428-32.

Char DS, Shah NH, Magnus D. Implementing machine learning in health care-addressing ethical challenges. N Engl J Med. 2018;378(11):981-3.

Bates DW, Saria S, Ohno-Machado L, Shah A, Escobar G. Big data in health care: using analytics to identify and manage high-risk and high-cost patients. Health Aff Proj Hope. 2014;33(7):1123-31.

Downloads

Published

2026-07-31

How to Cite

Bhan, S., Singh, A., Ramteke, P. U., & Radhakrishnan, A. (2026). Data-driven decision making in malaria control: the role of AI in the public health policy. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 13(8), 4737–4747. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20262768

Issue

Section

Review Articles