**1. Background**

On 11 March 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 to be a pandemic infection. Just a few months earlier, pneumonia from a "new virus" was recorded in China; this ailment would later be identified as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [1], a highly lethal viral disease with symptoms ranging from interstitial pneumonia to severe acute respiratory syndrome [2,3]. From February to July, around 12 million people were a ffected, with 500 thousand deaths occurring worldwide. While the figures related to COVID-19 seem to be slowly decreasing in Europe, with a seeming greater number of paucisymptomatic cases [4]; the epidemic is moving with greater force and aggression in Latin America (namely Mexico and Brazil), the United States of America, Asia (India), and Africa, where in the coming months the rainy season is expected along with the seasonal malaria epidemic.

Malaria—a parasitic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus *Plasmodium*, transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus *Anopheles*—is among the top ten causes of death in low-income countries and represents one of the grea<sup>t</sup> global health challenges. Although 100 countries worldwide have achieved disease elimination and are now malaria-free, around 300 million malaria cases and 500 thousand deaths still occurred worldwide in 2018, with sub-Saharan Africa bearing the greatest burden [5,6].

The association between COVID-19 and malaria epidemics can be devastating, especially in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs). Such countries are characterized by healthcare systems that are already fragile due to weak infrastructures, a scarcity of health workers, and limited financial resources. In this perspective, to avoid indirect short- and long-term e ffects of the COVID-19 pandemic [7] on malaria control programs and on healthcare systems of countries where the two diseases can coexist, preparedness is critical. For these reasons, in order to explore the current landscape and future outlook

for a joint scenario of COVID-19 and malaria and the consequences thereof, here we provide an overview for physicians and public health authorities involved in the front line.
