WHO approves first malaria vaccine

World health organization recommended the first vaccine against malaria. It took 30 years to develop the drug.

“Humanity has long dreamed of an effective and safe vaccine against malaria, and this historic day has come. – said the head of the WHO Tedros Ghebreyesus. “The recommendation builds on the results of an ongoing pilot project in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which has vaccinated over 800,000 children since 2019.”

According to him, the emergence of the vaccine is “a breakthrough in science, as well as in the protection of children’s health and the fight against malaria.” Using the drug to complement existing malaria prevention methods “will help save thousands of young lives every year.” The vaccine should be given to children from the age of five months in four doses. To date, 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered.

The vaccine, developed by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, is called Mosquirix (RTS, S).

Mosquitoes carry malaria, so mosquito nets and insecticide treatments are the main means of preventing disease. But even these simple funds are not affordable for everyone, and funding for anti-malaria programs has noticeably decreased. In 2019 alone, according to the WHO, instead of the required $ 5.6 billion, only $ 3 billion was received.

The situation was complicated last year by the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO warns that even small interruptions in malaria treatment can lead to an increase in mortality. For example, a 10 percent reduction in access to funds for the disease leads to the death of an additional 19,000 people.

According to the head of WHO, since 2000, mortality from malaria has halved, and in many regions of the world the disease has completely disappeared. However, in the world as a whole, 200 million cases of infection and 400 thousand deaths from malaria are annually recorded. Two thirds of cases and deaths are African children under the age of five, notes UN website. Malaria remains the leading cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa.

The vaccine development was funded by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the global health agency Unitaid and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.