The first-ever vaccine against malaria is to be given to children across much of Africa after the World Health Organisation (WHO) gave it the green light.
The global health body said that the decision “changes the course of public health history”.
The WHO recommended widespread use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine - developed by British pharmaceutical giant GSK - among children in sub-Saharan Africa on October 6.
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The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing malaria vaccine pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, that has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019.
To date, a total of 2.3 million doses have been administered.
Community demand for the vaccine is strong and evidence shows it can effectively be delivered through the routine child immunisation platform, WHO said.
Children under the age of five are the most vulnerable group to malaria - which is a disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
In 2019, they accounted for 67 per cent (274,000) of all malaria deaths worldwide.
Meanwhile, the WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2019, the region was home to 94 per cent of malaria cases and deaths.
WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control.
“Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, added: “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.”
Key findings from the pilot showed the vaccine is safe and 'significantly reduced' severe malaria by 30 per cent.
Data also showed that more than two-thirds of children were reached who don't benefit from sleeping under a net and that it was cost-effective.
