Over 1 million African children protected by first malaria vaccine
As World Malaria Day approaches, more than 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine, thanks to a pilot programme coordinated by WHO. These findings paved the way for the historic October 2021 WHO recommendation for the expanded use of RTS,S among children living in settings with moderate to high malaria transmission. If widely deployed, WHO estimates that the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40 000 to 80 000 African children each year.
RTS,S is a first-generation vaccine that could be complemented in the future by other vaccines with similar or higher efficacy. WHO welcomes progress in the development of R21/Matrix-M and other malaria vaccine candidates in early clinical development. The successful completion of clinical trials for these vaccines will be important to assess their safety and efficacy profiles. WHO also welcomes the news from BioNTech, manufacturer of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, that it aims to develop a malaria vaccine using mRNA technology.
According to the 2021 World malaria report, global progress in reducing malaria cases and deaths has slowed or stalled in recent years, particularly in countries hardest hit by the disease. Reaching global malaria targets will also require innovations in the way that currently available tools are deployed. Through the “ High burden to high impact” approach, launched by WHO and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria in 2018, countries hardest hit by malaria have been collecting and analysing malaria data to better understand the geographical spread of the disease.