The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the 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 global health organisation’s recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019.
Commenting on the research findings and the results achieved, WHO Director General, Dr. 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”, the health expert added.
Available data shows that malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 260,000 African children under the age of five dying yearly from malaria.
In Nigeria, despite some measure of success recorded by the government to reduce to barest level malaria attacks on children, the disease remains a major threat to millions of children annually.
In recent years, WHO and its partners have been reporting a stagnation in progress against the deadly disease.
In his remarks on the level of attacks in Africa, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, lamented that “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”, Moeti enthused.
Based on the advice of two WHO global advisory bodies, one for immunization and the other for malaria, the Organization recommends that in the context of comprehensive malaria control the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by WHO.
