Wider malaria vaccine rollout begins in Africa
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- The wider rollout of a WHO-recommended malaria vaccine began last month in Cameroon.
- Eight more African countries are expected to launch malaria vaccination programs in the next few months.
Cameroon became the first of a dozen countries that will participate in a wider rollout of a WHO-approved malaria vaccine in Africa.
Cameroon is the fourth country to launch a malaria vaccination program using the RTS,S vaccine. The first three — Ghana, Kenya and Malawi — were part of a 4-year WHO pilot program to implement routine use of the vaccine, which immunized more than 2 million children.
Vaccinations in Cameroon started on Jan. 22. The nation received 331,200 doses of the vaccine in November 2023, with more planned for delivery in the next several weeks, according to WHO.
“We are at a turning point in malaria control,” said Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, chief resource mobilization and growth officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “With the vaccine now in hand, our foremost priority is to ensure its widespread vaccination.”
WHO announced last July that 18 million doses of the vaccine would be allocated to 12 African countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda — in the last quarter of 2023 for the start of vaccination programs this year.
In addition to Cameroon, eight other nations will launch their programs in the coming months, with Benin, Burkina Faso and Liberia having already received their allocations and finalizing plans for their rollout, WHO said.
“The launch of the malaria vaccine marks a significant step in the prevention and control of the disease, especially in protecting children against severe disease and death,” Phanuel Habimama, MD, MPH, WHO representative in Cameroon, said in a press release. “We’re committed to supporting the national health authorities to ensure an effective rollout of the malaria vaccine together with scale up of other malaria control measures.”
RTS,S is one of two malaria vaccines recommended by WHO. The other, R21, also has been shown to reduce symptomatic malaria. WHO prequalified R21 in December, which will allow for wide access to the vaccine.
Cameroon in 2021 reported more than 3 million cases of malaria and over 3,800 deaths from the disease.
Globally, African nations accounted for roughly 94% of the 249 million malaria cases in 2022 and 95% of the 608,000 malaria-related deaths that year, according to WHO. Of the deaths, 77% occurred among children aged younger than 5 years, most in Africa.
“This vaccine rollout means that a world where children no longer die from a simple mosquito bite is within our reach,” Saraka-Yao said. “The journey to more children protected, more vaccines [and] control of malaria has begun. It is important that we support countries in the push to ensure this tool is available to children and communities most at risk.”
References:
- Cameroon kicks off malaria vaccine rollout. https://www.afro.who.int/countries/cameroon/news/cameroon-kicks-malaria-vaccine-rollout. Published Jan. 22, 2024. Accessed Jan. 31, 2024.
- WHO prequalifies a second malaria vaccine, a significant milestone in prevention of the disease. https://www.who.int/news/item/21-12-2023-who-prequalifies-a-second-malaria-vaccine-a-significant-milestone-in-prevention-of-the-disease. Published Dec. 21, 2023. Accessed Feb. 1, 2024.
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts