The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday (6) the approval and recommendation of the first vaccine against malaria in history. WHO has recommended use among children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission of malaria by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum, transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.
The organization based the recommendation on the results of an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which reached more than 800,000 children and where more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered since 2019. According to the WHO, the Malaria is the leading cause of illness and death among children in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 260,000 deaths of Africans under the age of five each year due to the disease.
“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 in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria can save tens of thousands of young lives each year,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be applied in a four-dose schedule to children from five months of age. WHO reported that, in the pilot project, the vaccine provided a 30% reduction in severe and fatal malaria cases, even when applied in areas where insecticide-treated bed nets are widely used and there is satisfactory access to diagnosis and treatment.
The organization said that the next steps will be discussions on funding for vaccine distribution and possible adoption in national immunization campaigns.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday (6) the approval and recommendation of the first vaccine against malaria in history. WHO has recommended use among children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission of malaria by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum, transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.
The organization based the recommendation on the results of an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which reached more than 800,000 children and where more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered since 2019. According to the WHO, the Malaria is the leading cause of illness and death among children in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 260,000 deaths of Africans under the age of five each year due to the disease.
“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 in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria can save tens of thousands of young lives each year,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be applied in a four-dose schedule to children from five months of age. WHO reported that, in the pilot project, the vaccine provided a 30% reduction in severe and fatal malaria cases, even when applied in areas where insecticide-treated bed nets are widely used and there is satisfactory access to diagnosis and treatment.
The organization said that the next steps will be discussions on funding for vaccine distribution and possible adoption in national immunization campaigns.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday (6) the approval and recommendation of the first vaccine against malaria in history. WHO has recommended use among children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission of malaria by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum, transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.
The organization based the recommendation on the results of an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which reached more than 800,000 children and where more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered since 2019. According to the WHO, the Malaria is the leading cause of illness and death among children in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 260,000 deaths of Africans under the age of five each year due to the disease.
“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 in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria can save tens of thousands of young lives each year,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be applied in a four-dose schedule to children from five months of age. WHO reported that, in the pilot project, the vaccine provided a 30% reduction in severe and fatal malaria cases, even when applied in areas where insecticide-treated bed nets are widely used and there is satisfactory access to diagnosis and treatment.
The organization said that the next steps will be discussions on funding for vaccine distribution and possible adoption in national immunization campaigns.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday (6) the approval and recommendation of the first vaccine against malaria in history. WHO has recommended use among children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission of malaria by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum, transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.
The organization based the recommendation on the results of an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which reached more than 800,000 children and where more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered since 2019. According to the WHO, the Malaria is the leading cause of illness and death among children in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 260,000 deaths of Africans under the age of five each year due to the disease.
“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 in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria can save tens of thousands of young lives each year,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be applied in a four-dose schedule to children from five months of age. WHO reported that, in the pilot project, the vaccine provided a 30% reduction in severe and fatal malaria cases, even when applied in areas where insecticide-treated bed nets are widely used and there is satisfactory access to diagnosis and treatment.
The organization said that the next steps will be discussions on funding for vaccine distribution and possible adoption in national immunization campaigns.