The fight against malaria has been on for decades now, with the world only coming up with preventive measures against the disease. Now, British pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has come up with a vaccine that could ease the battle significantly.
Called RTS,S, the vaccine has been proven effective for six years now, but the WHO has only approved it just now, after the success of pilot programmes in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. The vaccine is set to be rolled out across countries with a high incidence of malaria.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions.
The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019.
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WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said:
“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,”
“Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”
WHAT THIS MEANS:
- The endorsement of the vaccine by the WHO certifies it as safe for use.
- Data from the pilot programme showed that more than two-thirds of children in the 3 countries who are not sleeping under a bednet are benefitting from the RTS,S vaccine.
- Significant reduction (30%) in deadly severe malaria, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment.
- Modelling estimates that the vaccine is cost-effective in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission.
- More than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in 3 African countries – the vaccine has a favorable safety profile.
Malaria 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.
In recent years, WHO and its partners have been reporting a stagnation in progress against the deadly disease.
