The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the first world malaria vaccine deployed in African countries Ghana, Kenya and Malawi significantly reduced the death and hospitalization amongst vaccinated children.
Driving the news
The first malaria vaccine named RTS,S/AS01E, is set for distribution in other parts of Africa with high rates of malaria such as Mozambique, Nigeria and Zambia, following the tremendous success recorded in the first set of countries.
Current situation
The WHO scheme targeted children under the age of five as three quarters of malaria deaths occur in children within that age. WHO statistics show that every 2 minutes, a child below five years of age dies of malaria.
- Of the 409,000 malaria related deaths recorded in 2019, 67% or 274,000 were children under the age of five.
What they are saying
Wellington Oyibo, the Director of the Centre for Malaria Diagnosis, Research, Capacity Building and Policy, University of Lagos, said the Buhari led administration and the Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation Malaria Eradication Project are jointly applying to purchase the vaccine for Nigeria.
- According to Oyibo, the plan is to start the distribution in states with moderate to high transmission rate in the country as the vaccine might not go round the country in the first round of distribution.