World’s first vaccination campaign against malaria

It is the world’s first vaccination campaign against malaria: in Cameroon, Central Africa, the authorities have started administering the vaccine to children. It is a glimmer of hope, but also a mammoth task.

The world’s first vaccination campaign against malaria has begun in Cameroon. Health authorities called the vaccinations a milestone in decades-long efforts to contain the disease. “The vaccination will save lives. It will be a great relief for families and the country’s health system,” said Aurelia Nguyen from the international vaccine alliance Gavi, which is helping Cameroon procure the vaccine doses.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had previously described the start of the vaccination campaign against malaria as a “historic stage” in the fight against the disease, which primarily occurs in Africa.

A six-month-old baby was one of the first to receive the injection against the tropical disease in a small hospital in the city of Soa. Nurses sang and celebrated the start of the vaccination campaign in their country. The hospital in Soa is one of many vaccination centers set up in Cameroon with its 28 million inhabitants.

Deadly disease – especially for children

The Central African country hopes to vaccinate around 250,000 children this year and next. Gavi says it is working with 20 other African countries to help them procure the vaccine and hopes that these countries will be able to vaccinate more than six million children by 2025. In Africa, around 600,000 people die from malaria every year, many of them young children.

Malaria is caused by parasites transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. The disease poses a major health risk in Africa, especially for young children, especially as resistance to common malaria drugs is becoming increasingly common. In 2021, 247 million malaria infections were counted worldwide. 95 percent of global infections and 96 percent of deaths have been recorded in Africa.

Vaccine brings hope, but not a quick fix

In addition to Cameroon, malaria vaccine was also supplied to Sierra Leone and Benin. Vaccine doses had previously been administered to children aged five months and older in a pilot program in some areas of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi since 2019. According to the international vaccination alliance Gavi, this immunization of more than two million children led to a “spectacular decline” in child mortality from malaria and a significant decline in severe malaria infections.

The new vaccine brings hope – but it is probably not a quick solution. Cameroon will use the recently approved malaria vaccine Mosquirix. The WHO endorsed the vaccine two years ago, acknowledging that its use could dramatically reduce serious infections and hospitalizations. However, the vaccination is only about 30 percent effective and requires the administration of four doses. Vaccination protection wears off after a few months.