The World Health Organization has recommended the mass use of the first malaria vaccine for children, which could save the lives of tens of thousands of children in Africa every year. “This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough in science, child health and the fight against malaria,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “Using this vaccine in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives every year.”
How the vaccine works
deepening
Malaria, encouraging results in mice for the first mRna vaccine
The new vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, activates the immune system of children against Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the five malaria pathogens and the most widespread in Africa. The WHO recommendation is based on the results of an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has involved more than 800,000 children since 2019.
The UN agency recommends the widespread use of this vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas at risk with moderate to high transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The preparation against malaria “should be administered in a 4-dose program in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of the disease and the burden of malaria”, specifies the WHO in the note. In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is one of the main causes of childhood diseases and death: every year more than 260,000 African children under the age of five die of malaria.
“For centuries, malaria has haunted sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. “We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now, for the first time ever, we have a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent bearing the heaviest burden of the world. disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and become healthy adults. “
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