First malaria vaccine approved by WHO

The World Health Organization(WHO) has recommended the use of RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S), the first malaria vaccine for children in Africa and other regions at risk of P. falciparum malaria transmission.

“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”

“For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,”Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said. “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.”

The recommendation is said to be based on results from the ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. The vaccine is recommended to be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age.

Data and insights generated from the pilot programme in the three African countries shows that the vaccine is safe, cost-effective, has a high impact, reaches the people, feasible to deliver and does not affect other vaccinations.

The pilot programme has been financed  through an unprecedented collaboration among three key global health funding bodies: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid.