WHO recommends the use of the RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission rates. To reduce the incidence of malaria and the burden of disease, the RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine is administered in a four-dose regimen to children 5 months of age and older.
As WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted , the approval of the world’s first malaria vaccine is a historic moment: “The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough in science, child health and malaria control.Combined with existing malaria prevention methods, this vaccine could save tens of thousands of young lives every year.”
Malaria remains one of the leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. It kills more than 260,000 African children under the age of five each year. In recent years, WHO and its partners have noted a “lack of positive momentum” in the fight against the disease.
“Malaria has plagued sub-Saharan Africa for centuries, causing enormous human suffering, ” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa . “We have long hoped for an effective antimalarial vaccine, and for the first time in history, such a vaccine has been recommended for mass use. Today’s recommendation is a ray of hope for the continent suffering from the greatest disease burden, and we hope that this will protect many more African children from malaria as they enter adulthood healthy.”
The recommendation for the use of the vaccine is based on the main results of pilot projects based on data and findings from a two-year vaccination process conducted in children’s health facilities in three countries, led by the ministries of health in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.