On Wednesday, the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), the World Health Organisation, and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced that 12 African countries had been selected to receive the malaria vaccine.
The agencies revealed in a statement that these countries would be supplied with 18 million doses of the groundbreaking vaccine over the next two years.
Since 2019, the vaccine has already been administered to over 1.6 million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi, demonstrating its safety and efficacy.
This successful implementation has led to a significant decrease in severe malaria cases and a reduction in child mortality rates.
According to Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases in Africa, claiming the lives of nearly half a million children under the age of five annually.
In 2021 alone, these fatalities accounted for approximately 96% of global malaria deaths.
Mr. Ghebreyesus emphasized the increasing threat posed by disease-carrying mosquitoes due to the changing weather patterns caused by the climate crisis.
The initial allocation of 18 million doses will enable nine additional African countries to introduce the vaccine into their routine immunization programs for the first time.
These countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. The first shipments are expected to arrive in the last quarter of 2023, with the rollout scheduled to commence in early 2024.
Thabani Maphosa, the Managing Director of Country Programs Delivery at Gavi, expressed optimism about the vaccine’s potential impact in the fight against malaria. When used in conjunction with other interventions, it has the capacity to prevent tens of thousands of deaths each year.
The partners revealed that “at least 28 African countries have expressed their interest in receiving the RTS,S vaccine.”
A second malaria vaccine is also currently undergoing review for pre-qualification, and if successful, it will provide additional supply in the near future.
(NAN)
