African countries that were first to roll out a breakthrough malaria vaccine have seen a “significant reduction” in child deaths, a landmark report found this week.
Malaria kills around 600,000 people annually, most of them in Africa, and most of them children. However, the RTS,S malaria jab, which performed well in clinical trials, is now having a positive impact on the ground, the research showed.
Published in the Lancet health journal, the study observed infant mortality rates over four years in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi after they introduced malaria vaccinations for children. One in eight child deaths, it noted, had been avoided in the countries since the jab was rolled out.
Twenty-five African countries now offer malaria vaccinations to children. Researchers expect similar results, or better, in countries that took up the vaccine more recently. Other vaccines are in development.
“This is very solid evidence of the potential for malaria vaccines to change the trajectory of child mortality in Africa,” said the World Health Organization’s Dr Kate O’Brien, co-author of the evaluation.
Challenges remain, however. “More financing is needed so that countries can purchase enough vaccine, along with other malaria prevention tools, to reach all the kids most at risk,” she said.
Image: Annie Spratt
