Cameroon on Monday launched the world's first regular vaccination program against malaria, a mosquito-borne disease expected to save the lives of tens of thousands of children annually across Africa.
The vaccine, which took about 40 years to develop and is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and approved by the World Health Organization, is supposed to work alongside currently available tools, such as mosquito nets, to combat malaria, which kills nearly half a million children without children. Age five in Africa every year.
According to the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), Cameroon has become the first country to offer the vaccine through a regular vaccination program that 19 other countries aim to launch this year, after successful trials in several countries, including Ghana and Kenya.
Malaria vaccination targets about 6.6 million children in these countries during the years 2024 and 2025.
#Cameroon #launches #world39s #program #vaccinate #children #malaria