The World Health Organisation (WHO) has endorsed the
RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine for children in Africa.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, announced
the development at a media briefing on Wednesday.
The recommendation followed a two-year vaccination
programme, which involved children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
Malaria remains one of the leading causes of child mortality
in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 250,000 deaths reported yearly.
Speaking on the recommendation, Ghebreyesus expressed
optimism that the vaccine will improve efforts on malaria prevention in Africa.
“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine
for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,”
he said.
“Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of
thousands of young lives each year.”
On her part, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for
Africa, said the vaccine recommendation, which is the first of its kind, will
offer African children a better chance in the fight against malaria.
“For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa,
causing immense personal suffering. We have long hoped for an effective malaria
vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for
widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the
continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many
more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy
adults,” Moeti said.
According to the WHO, research on the vaccine dates back 30
years, and the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) for the pilot
phase is coordinated by WHO with support from organisations including PATH, a
non-profit global health organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), said to be donating up to 10 million doses of the
vaccine for the introductory phase.
The WHO also said development of the vaccine received
funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation between 2001 and 2015.
The first dose of the vaccine was administered in Malawi in
April 2019, and till date, more than 800,000 children have been reached in the
pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
According to the WHO’s recommendations, the vaccine is
effective in the prevention of “P. falciparum malaria in children living in
regions with moderate to high transmission”.
“RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule
of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria
disease and burden,” the organisation added.
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