The World Health Organization announced on Oct. 6, that it is now recommending use of a vaccine against malaria, developed by GlaxoSmitKline, after 30 years of research and clinical trials. Brand name Mosquirix (RTS,S/AS01), it is the first ever against Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite globally, and the most prevalent in Africa.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, stated: “For centuries, malaria has stalked Sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering. We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults.”
“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Using this vaccine on top of existing [non medical] tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”
Malaria kills more than 400,000 people around the world every year, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 260,000 African children under the age of 5 die from it annually.
The RTS,S/AS01 vaccine is administered in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age. To date, more than 2.3 million doses have been administered in the three pilot countries of Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.
