Historic moment: WHO endorses the first anti-malarial vaccine for children 

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the first anti-malarial vaccine for children, in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission on Wednesday. The development comes at a time when the WHO and its partners have reported a stagnation in the progress against the disease that kills more than 2,60,000 African children under the age of five annually.

 

The WHO said that it was recommending the widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. The recommendation is said to be based on results from an on-going pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019. According to the WHO, malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa.

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In a press conference that went live on social media, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, ‘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 on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.’  He noted that the vaccine does significantly reduce life-threatening severed malaria, but added that it is not the only tool, and does not replace or reduce the need for other measures, including bed nets.

 

‘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’, said WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.

 

RTS,S was first authorised in 2015 by the European Medicines Agency for use in Africa in infants and children. WHO said its website that RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria disease and burden.