Honestly, what I've learned is that it's always "Malaria". Someone is sick? Malaria. Someone is sick with something that most likely isn't Malaria? Nope, still Malaria.
My Brother-In-Law, who is early 20s, was posting a LOT of "rest in peace" photos of friends during 2020/2021 of younger people - I had asked him about it, and it was all, "they said it was Malaria" complications. When I asked my spouse about it, I was told, "they say everything is Malaria when they don't know what it is." Same with my Mother-In-Law with older peoples funerals she was going to around the same time. But, by mid 2021 or later, things calmed down.
I had a nice conversation with a few tradesmen we were working with and they all agreed COVID was not in The Gambia and questioned if it was real, or only an American/European problem. They also agreed being outdoors a lot and in the sun helped them not suffer our fate. When I mentioned other hot areas were hit, they all agreed it was because Gambia had good luck and health because of the people. Seems a lot of it is perspective. ;-)
Tracy