The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF will send 18 million doses of the first malaria vaccine to 12 countries in Africa over the next two years. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced this on Wednesday.
According to WHO data, malaria will kill 619,000 people worldwide by 2021. The disease is caused by the bite of a mosquito and is accompanied by symptoms such as fever, headache and chills. If left untreated, the disease can lead to death. Malaria remains one of the leading causes of death in Africa. Every year, 500 million children die from the disease.
The new vaccine against malaria was developed by the University of Oxford and has been given the green light by the Ghanaian authorities. It was already tested in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in 2019. About 1.6 million children received the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine. Prioritize doses for areas of greatest need, where the risk of childhood illness and mortality is greatest.
In addition to Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the first dose allocation will go to nine countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda. At least 28 African countries are interested in using it, but the supply does not match the demand, according to the WHO.
The first doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in countries in the last quarter of 2023, with countries able to begin rolling out in early 2024.
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