Malaria (a mosquito-borne infectious disease) remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 260,000 African children under the age of five die from malaria annually.
Malaria vaccines are vaccines that prevent malaria, (a mosquito-borne infectious disease) which annually affects an estimated 247 million people worldwide and causes 619,000 deaths.
*According to data and information from World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Medicines Agency: The first approved vaccine for malaria is RTS,S, known by the brand name Mosquirix. As of April 2023, the vaccine has been given to 1.5 million children living in areas with moderate-to-high malaria transmission. It requires at least three doses in infants by age 2, and a fourth dose extends the protection for another 1–2 years. The vaccine reduces hospital admissions from severe malaria by around 30%.
On October 2021, **World Health Organization (WHO) recommend widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission.
The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 900,000 children since 2019.
Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority approved the use of the R21 vaccine in April 2023, for use in children aged between five months to three years old. The Serum Institute of India is preparing to produce between 100–200 million doses of the vaccine per year, and is constructing a vaccine factory in Accra, Ghana. Following Ghana’s decision, Nigeria provisionally approved the R21 vaccine.
***World Health Organization updates about the Malaria Vaccines;
The roll out is a critical step forward in the fight against one of the leading causes of death on the continent.
- In response to high demand for the first-ever malaria vaccine, 12 countries in Africa will be allocated a total of 18 million doses of RTS,S/AS01 for the 2023–2025 period.
- Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme countries Ghana, Kenya and Malawi will receive doses to continue vaccinations in pilot areas.
- Allocations were also made for new introductions in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
For more details information, check out this links.
*WHO and European Medicines Agency
***WHO Updates
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