Cameroon has initiated a malaria vaccination program to assist alleviate the load on the country’s health-care system.
With the vaccination program starting today, this step is a big milestone for the West African country, given the disease’s prevalence in the region.
WHO approved GSK’s RTS,S vaccine for use alongside mosquito nets in the national campaign.
Malaria vaccines will be administered to 6.6 million children in 20 West African countries between 2024 and 2025.
According to Reuters, the World Health Organization has approved the use of the RTS,S vaccine created by pharmaceutical giant GSK.
This vaccine, along with other malaria prevention measures such as mosquito nets, will be used to help eradicate the virus. The initiative has been in the works for over forty years.
According to the International Vaccine Alliance Gavi, Cameroon is the first country to deliver doses as part of a routine immunization program, which 19 other countries plan to implement in 2024 after successful trials in Ghana and Kenya.
6.6 million children in these countries are scheduled to receive malaria vaccines between 2024 and 2025.
During a combined online conference with the WHO, Gavi, and other organizations, Mohammed Abdulaziz of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “For a long time, we have been waiting for a day like this.”
The fight against malaria has encountered some roadblocks, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced medical practitioners around the world to shift their focus away from malaria and towards the coronavirus. According to the WHO, malaria infections increased by approximately 5 million year on year in 2022.
The majority of countries on the continent have requested vaccination dosages, as fears of a scarcity have been alleviated by a second completed a key regulatory step in December.
WHO’s director of immunization, Kate O’Brien, stated during a briefing that the launch of the second vaccine “is expected to result in sufficient vaccine supply to meet the high demand and reach millions of more children.”
