The World Health Organization on Wednesday recommended widespread use of a malaria vaccine for children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other at-risk regions – the world’s first malaria vaccine to be granted approval, representing a historic step in the fight against malaria.
“This is a historic moment,” U.S. News quoted WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as saying in a statement.
“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.”
Malaria is a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the WHO, where children account for more than 67% of all malaria deaths worldwide, with more than 260,000 children under the age of five dying from malaria annually.
The vaccine acts against P. falciparum, the most prevalent malaria parasite in Africa, and the most deadly malaria parasite globally, the WHO says, and has been administered to more than 800,000 children in pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. According to the WHO, the vaccine significantly reduced deadly severe malaria, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets were already widely used and where there is strong access to diagnosis and treatment.
“For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa said in a statement. “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.” SOURCE: U.S . News