Sierra Leone has been selected among nine African countries to receive the world’s first Malaria vaccine, the global vaccine alliance GAVI, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN children agency UNICEF announced on Wednesday.
The development is part expansion of the Malaria vaccine programme of GAVI, alongside its partners, the organizations said in a joint statement. They said that 18 million doses of the RTS,S, vaccine, which was developed by UK pharmaceutical firm, GSK, will be delivered to a total of 12 countries over the next two years.
RTS,S is the world’s first malaria vaccine and the first approved vaccine to combat a human parasitic disease. WHO approved it for use in July 2022.
Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have been receiving the vaccine as part of a pilot program funded by GAVI, since 2019. Under this programme, more than 1.7 million children in the three countries received doses, according to the statement.
Malaria is considered as one of the highest killer diseases on the African continent, especially deadly for children.
It is responsible for the deaths of nearly half a million children each year under the age of five, according to WHO, which also show that the continent accounted for about 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of deaths in 2021.
WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus first disclosed the news about the vaccine expansion project at a press conference in in Geneva, Switzerland earlier on Wednesday. He said that at least 28 African countries had expressed interest in receiving the vaccine.
“It has been shown to be safe and effective, resulting in a substantial reduction in severe malaria and a fall in child deaths,” said Dr Ghebreyesus.
“With the climate crisis changing weather patterns, mosquitoes that carry these diseases are increasing in density and spreading further afield,” he said.
According to the WHO chief, a second malaria vaccine is under review for pre-qualification, noting that if successful, it could provide additional supply in the short term.
Sierra Leone has one of the highest burdens of malaria in the world, with the country’s entire population said to be at risk of the disease.
Malaria is responsible for nearly four in ten hospital consultations countrywide, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
Sierra Leone’s neighbor, Liberia is among the list nine countries to receive the vaccine. The other countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, and Uganda.
The first doses of the vaccine are expected to reach the 12 countries during the last quarter of 2023, allowing them to start rolling out by early next year, according to the statement.
