Nairobi, Jul 21. The World Health Organization (WHO) celebrated this Thursday the launch of an international vaccine financing program that will allow African countries to start or continue vaccinating their populations against malaria until the year 2050.
“This new funding opportunity from GAVI (the Global Alliance for Vaccines) is one more step in reaching millions of children in Africa with the life-saving RTS,S malaria vaccine,” said Africa Director of the WHO, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, at a press conference.
“Even throughout the pandemic, when routine health challenges were met with myriad challenges, parents and caregivers diligently brought their children to clinics and health centers to be vaccinated against malaria. They knew well that malaria kills. every day,” Moeti added.
The Alliance opened this Wednesday a process for countries to request funding and support to implement the new vaccine.
Until the year 2050, GAVI will make available to African countries a fund of 160 million dollars to continue vaccination campaigns against malaria on the continent.
This program will start in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the three countries that began distribution of the pilot vaccine in 2019, but will later be extended to other nations where malaria is endemic.
“Now is the time for African countries and communities to express their interest in early access to this vaccine. Lives are at stake every day,” Moeti said.
Malaria is one of the main causes of illness and death in children in sub-Saharan Africa, causing the death of almost half a million children in 2020, that is, one every minute, according to the WHO.
But where the RTS,S vaccine has been introduced, the UN agency noted, there has been a substantial drop in children with severe malaria, as well as a reduction in deaths.
“We know that initially supply will not be enough to meet demand. But we look forward to working with nations and our partners to introduce and scale up this new tool in the fight against malaria, which will save the lives of thousands of children.” across the continent,” said GAVI Program Director Thabani Maphosa.
“The use of this vaccine can save tens of thousands of young lives every year, but we need a larger supply of vaccines for Africa to reap its benefits,” added Professor Rose Leke, a malaria expert at the University of Cameroon.
GAVI, created in 2000 by, among others, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is a global public-private partnership organization to ensure and improve access to vaccination, particularly for children in developing countries, against infectious diseases. preventable life-threatening EFE
pm/pa/mah
–
