When babies are born in western Kenya, where malaria is rife, many mothers are sent home from the hospital with one all-important baby gift: a bed net treated with insecticide.

“Malaria is our No. 1 health problem,” said Mathews Ajwala, a community health worker who gives out the nets to ward off malarial mosquitoes that can cause severe illness and death. More than 400,000 people died of malaria worldwide in 2019, and two-thirds of those were children in Africa under age five.

So when the World Health Organization on Wednesday announced that it had approved the world’s first malaria vaccine, African parents, government officials and health workers like Ajwala celebrated the moment as a milestone in the fight against a scourge that has plagued humans for millennia.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-people-are-interested-in-covid-booster-than-first-or-second-shot-cdc-419185">More people are interested in Covid booster than first or second shot: CDC</a>

“This vaccine will be a big game-changer,” Ajwala said in a telephone interview.

The vaccine, the first developed for any parasitic disease, was widely discussed on social media and on radio and television stations Thursday. Many across the continent took pride in the fact that African scientists, research institutions and citizens helped provide and interpret the data that eventually led to approval of the vaccine. The WHO endorsement was based on the results of more than 2.3 million doses administered since 2019 to about 800,000 children in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana.

But Africans were also coming to grips with the fact that the vaccine alone will not solve the malaria problem.

In clinical trials, the vaccine, made by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, was effective at reducing severe malaria by only 30 per cent in the first year after it was administered, according to WHO — although some experts put the figure at closer to 50 per cent.

To be effective, four doses of the vaccine must be administered starting at the age of five months — which could pose logistical problems since delivering vaccines on the continent is already a challenge.

“The vaccine saves lives, but it will not be a silver bullet,” said Githinji Gitahi, CEO of Amref Health Africa, a nongovernmental organization.

While the vaccine is a “huge addition to the fight” against malaria, said Gitahi, health officials will still have to deploy “a Swiss cheese strategy” that includes insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor spraying.

When babies are born in western Kenya, where malaria is rife, many mothers are sent home from the hospital with one all-important baby gift: a bed net treated with insecticide.

When babies are born in western Kenya, where malaria is rife, many mothers are sent home from the hospital with one all-important baby gift: a bed net treated with insecticide. “Malaria is our No. 1 health problem,” said Mathews Ajwala, a community health worker who gives out the nets to ward off malarial mosquitoes that can cause severe illness and death. More than 400,000 people died of malaria worldwide in 2019, and two-thirds of those were children in Africa under age five. So when the World Health Organization on Wednesday announced that it had approved the world’s first malaria vaccine, African parents, government officials and health workers like Ajwala celebrated the moment as a milestone in the fight against a scourge that has plagued humans for millennia. Also read | More people are interested in Covid booster than first or second shot: CDC “This vaccine will be a big game-changer,” Ajwala said in a telephone interview. The vaccine, the first developed for any parasitic disease, was widely discussed on social media and on radio and television stations Thursday. Many across the continent took pride in the fact that African scientists, research institutions and citizens helped provide and interpret the data that eventually led to approval of the vaccine. The WHO endorsement was based on the results of more than 2.3 million doses administered since 2019 to about 800,000 children in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. But Africans were also coming to grips with the fact that the vaccine alone will not solve the malaria problem. In clinical trials, the vaccine, made by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, was effective at reducing severe malaria by only 30 per cent in the first year after it was administered, according to WHO — although some experts put the figure at closer to 50 per cent. To be effective, four doses of the vaccine must be administered starting at the age of five months — which could pose logistical problems since delivering vaccines on the continent is already a challenge. “The vaccine saves lives, but it will not be a silver bullet,” said Githinji Gitahi, CEO of Amref Health Africa, a nongovernmental organization. While the vaccine is a “huge addition to the fight” against malaria, said Gitahi, health officials will still have to deploy “a Swiss cheese strategy” that includes insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor spraying.

Africans welcome new Malaria vaccine. But is it a ‘game changer'?

The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine was recommended by the World Health Organisation on Wednesday, making it the first vaccination against the mosquito-borne illness that kills over 400,000 people each year, primarily African children.

The decision was taken after an assessment of a pilot programme that has been running in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi since 2019 and has handed out over two million doses of the vaccine, which was initially developed by the pharmaceutical company GSK in 1987.&nbsp; 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/who-recommends-use-of-first-malaria-vaccine-for-children-418724">Also read | WHO recommends use of first malaria vaccine for children</a>

RTS, S/AS01 (trade name Mosquirix) is the first vaccination for children aged 6 weeks to 17 months that is about 30% effective against severe instances of the mosquito-borne illness malaria.

GlaxoSmithKline's four-dose vaccine, which took 30 years to develop, protects against Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite found in Africa.&nbsp;

It's also the first malaria vaccine to be offered by three national ministries of health through their childhood vaccination programmes; over 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi have been immunised as part of a trial study, and are benefiting from the vaccine's additional protection.

Other recent clinical evidence suggests that timing the vaccine distribution just before the peak malaria transmission season in places where malaria is highly seasonal might maximise impact and significantly reduce mortality, especially when coupled with other malaria control measures.&nbsp;

Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic illness spread by bites from infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.

It's both avoidable and treatable.

Despite this, there were a projected 229 million cases of malaria around the globe in 2019, with an estimated 409,000 malaria fatalities.

In 2019, children under the age of five are the most vulnerable to malaria, accounting for 67 percent (274,000) of all malaria fatalities worldwide.

According to WHO, India had an estimated 5.6 million cases of malaria in 2019, compared to nearly 20 million cases in 2000.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine was recommended by the World Health Organisation on Wednesday, making it the first vaccination against the mosquito-borne illness that kills over 400,000 people each year, primarily African children.

The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine was recommended by the World Health Organisation on Wednesday, making it the first vaccination against the mosquito-borne illness that kills over 400,000 people each year, primarily African children. The decision was taken after an assessment of a pilot programme that has been running in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi since 2019 and has handed out over two million doses of the vaccine, which was initially developed by the pharmaceutical company GSK in 1987. Also read | WHO recommends use of first malaria vaccine for children RTS, S/AS01 (trade name Mosquirix) is the first vaccination for children aged 6 weeks to 17 months that is about 30% effective against severe instances of the mosquito-borne illness malaria. GlaxoSmithKline's four-dose vaccine, which took 30 years to develop, protects against Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite found in Africa. It's also the first malaria vaccine to be offered by three national ministries of health through their childhood vaccination programmes; over 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi have been immunised as part of a trial study, and are benefiting from the vaccine's additional protection. Other recent clinical evidence suggests that timing the vaccine distribution just before the peak malaria transmission season in places where malaria is highly seasonal might maximise impact and significantly reduce mortality, especially when coupled with other malaria control measures. Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic illness spread by bites from infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It's both avoidable and treatable. Despite this, there were a projected 229 million cases of malaria around the globe in 2019, with an estimated 409,000 malaria fatalities. In 2019, children under the age of five are the most vulnerable to malaria, accounting for 67 percent (274,000) of all malaria fatalities worldwide. According to WHO, India had an estimated 5.6 million cases of malaria in 2019, compared to nearly 20 million cases in 2000. (With inputs from agencies)

What is Mosquirix, the world's first malaria vaccine WHO recommends?

The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, the first against the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 400,000 people a year, mostly African children.

The decision followed a review of a pilot programme deployed since 2019 in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in which more than two million doses were given of the vaccine, first made by the pharmaceutical company GSK in 1987.

After reviewing evidence from those countries, the WHO said it was "recommending the broad use of the world's first malaria vaccine", the agency's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The WHO said it was recommending children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high malaria transmission get four doses up to the age of two.

Every two minutes, a child dies of malaria, the agency said.&nbsp;

More than half of malaria deaths worldwide are in six sub-Saharan African countries and almost a quarter are in Nigeria alone, according to 2019 WHO figures.

Symptoms include fever, headaches and muscle pain, then cycles of chills, fever and sweating.

Findings from the vaccine pilot showed it "significantly reduces severe malaria which is the deadly form by 30 percent," said Kate O'Brien, Director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.

The vaccine is "feasible to deliver", she added and "it's also reaching the unreached... Two thirds of children who don’t sleep under a bed net in those countries are now benefiting from the vaccine."

Many vaccines exist against viruses and bacteria but this was the first time that the WHO recommended for broad use a vaccine against a human parasite.

The vaccine acts against plasmodium falciparum -- one of five malaria parasite species and the most deadly.

"From a scientific perspective this is a massive breakthrough," said Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme.

'Glimmer of hope'

Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa said Wednesday's recommendation "offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease."

The estimated cost of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa is over 12 billion dollars a year, Alonso said at a news conference following the announcement.

Before the newly recommended vaccine can reach children in need, the next step will be funding.&nbsp;

"That will be the next major step... Then we will be set up for scaling of doses and decisions about where the vaccine will be most useful and how it will be deployed," said O'Brien.

Gavi vaccine alliance said in a statement after the WHO announcement that "global stakeholders, including Gavi, will consider whether and how to finance a new malaria vaccination programme for countries in sub-Saharan Africa."

The fight against malaria received a boost in April when researchers from Britain's Oxford University announced that their Matrix-M vaccine candidate had become the first to surpass the WHO's threshold of 75-percent efficacy.

Germany's BioNTech, which developed a coronavirus vaccine with US giant Pfizer, also said it aimed to start trials for a malaria vaccine next year using the same breakthrough mRNA technology.

The WHO also hopes this latest recommendation will encourage scientists to develop more malaria vaccines.&nbsp;

The RTS,S/AS01 is "a first generation, really important one," said Alonso, "but we hope... it stimulates the field to look for other types of vaccines to completement or go beyond this one."

The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, the first against the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 400,000 people a year, mostly African children.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, the first against the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 400,000 people a year, mostly African children. The decision followed a review of a pilot programme deployed since 2019 in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in which more than two million doses were given of the vaccine, first made by the pharmaceutical company GSK in 1987. After reviewing evidence from those countries, the WHO said it was "recommending the broad use of the world's first malaria vaccine", the agency's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The WHO said it was recommending children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high malaria transmission get four doses up to the age of two. Every two minutes, a child dies of malaria, the agency said. More than half of malaria deaths worldwide are in six sub-Saharan African countries and almost a quarter are in Nigeria alone, according to 2019 WHO figures. Symptoms include fever, headaches and muscle pain, then cycles of chills, fever and sweating. Findings from the vaccine pilot showed it "significantly reduces severe malaria which is the deadly form by 30 percent," said Kate O'Brien, Director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals. The vaccine is "feasible to deliver", she added and "it's also reaching the unreached... Two thirds of children who don’t sleep under a bed net in those countries are now benefiting from the vaccine." Many vaccines exist against viruses and bacteria but this was the first time that the WHO recommended for broad use a vaccine against a human parasite. The vaccine acts against plasmodium falciparum -- one of five malaria parasite species and the most deadly. "From a scientific perspective this is a massive breakthrough," said Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. 'Glimmer of hope' Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa said Wednesday's recommendation "offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease." The estimated cost of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa is over 12 billion dollars a year, Alonso said at a news conference following the announcement. Before the newly recommended vaccine can reach children in need, the next step will be funding. "That will be the next major step... Then we will be set up for scaling of doses and decisions about where the vaccine will be most useful and how it will be deployed," said O'Brien. Gavi vaccine alliance said in a statement after the WHO announcement that "global stakeholders, including Gavi, will consider whether and how to finance a new malaria vaccination programme for countries in sub-Saharan Africa." The fight against malaria received a boost in April when researchers from Britain's Oxford University announced that their Matrix-M vaccine candidate had become the first to surpass the WHO's threshold of 75-percent efficacy. Germany's BioNTech, which developed a coronavirus vaccine with US giant Pfizer, also said it aimed to start trials for a malaria vaccine next year using the same breakthrough mRNA technology. The WHO also hopes this latest recommendation will encourage scientists to develop more malaria vaccines. The RTS,S/AS01 is "a first generation, really important one," said Alonso, "but we hope... it stimulates the field to look for other types of vaccines to completement or go beyond this one."

WHO recommends use of first malaria vaccine for children

According to a report by a team of researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners, R21/Matrix-M, a malaria&nbsp;vaccine which was in its Phase IIb trial, showed an efficacy of 77 per cent over a period of 12 months. This efficacy rate makes this vaccine the first ever to achieve the World Health Organisation (WHO) specified 75 per cent efficacy goal.

The team behind the vaccine hopes that it will be approved for use within the next two years. "With the commitment by our commercial partner, the Serum Institute of India, to manufacture at least 200 million doses annually in the coming years, the vaccine has the potential to have a major public health impact if licensure is achieved.", said Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute, co-author of the paper.

Hill also said that "we and others have found that if you vaccinate just before the malaria season, you get maybe a 10 per cent improvement or something like that in efficacy - that's not published yet but will be coming out fairly soon from another group", adding that he was "pretty confident" that the proven 77 per cent efficacy could be replicated in the upcoming phase of the trial.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/drug-resistant-malaria-making-inroads-in-africa-study-377979">Drug-resistant malaria making inroads in Africa: Study</a>

Prof Adrian Hill said that the vaccine is&nbsp;in his opinion the world’s most effective vaccine against malaria “in the sense that no other vaccine has had a primary endpoint with over 75 per cent&nbsp;efficacy”. Talking about his team’s excitement over this, he added that there is still a final phase of testing for the vaccine to go through.

Malaria leads to the fatality of hundreds of thousands of children each year all over the world and is a disease that just last year was the cause of death for approximately four times the number of people killed by COVID-19.

According to a report by a team of researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners, R21/Matrix-M, a malaria vaccine which was in its Phase IIb trial, showed an efficacy of 77 per cent over a period of 12 months.

According to a report by a team of researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners, R21/Matrix-M, a malaria vaccine which was in its Phase IIb trial, showed an efficacy of 77 per cent over a period of 12 months. This efficacy rate makes this vaccine the first ever to achieve the World Health Organisation (WHO) specified 75 per cent efficacy goal. The team behind the vaccine hopes that it will be approved for use within the next two years. "With the commitment by our commercial partner, the Serum Institute of India, to manufacture at least 200 million doses annually in the coming years, the vaccine has the potential to have a major public health impact if licensure is achieved.", said Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute, co-author of the paper. Hill also said that "we and others have found that if you vaccinate just before the malaria season, you get maybe a 10 per cent improvement or something like that in efficacy - that's not published yet but will be coming out fairly soon from another group", adding that he was "pretty confident" that the proven 77 per cent efficacy could be replicated in the upcoming phase of the trial. Also read | Drug-resistant malaria making inroads in Africa: Study Prof Adrian Hill said that the vaccine is in his opinion the world’s most effective vaccine against malaria “in the sense that no other vaccine has had a primary endpoint with over 75 per cent efficacy”. Talking about his team’s excitement over this, he added that there is still a final phase of testing for the vaccine to go through. Malaria leads to the fatality of hundreds of thousands of children each year all over the world and is a disease that just last year was the cause of death for approximately four times the number of people killed by COVID-19.

World’s first malaria vaccine to achieve WHO-specified efficacy developed in UK

Reaching out to Madagascar yet again, India will be sending 1000 tonnes of rice and malaria medicine to the Indian Ocean island country. Southern Madagascar&nbsp;has been impacted by devastating famine and according to a November 2020 report by the World Food Programme, families are forced to eat insects.

India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had assured supplies to the foreign minister of Madagascar&nbsp;Tehindrazanarivelo Liva during the telephonic talks on Monday.&nbsp;

He tweeted, "Good conversation with FM of Madagascar @Tehindrazanari1 . Informed him that Indian humanitarian assistance would be delivered in the coming days. Will include food and medical supplies."

This is the&nbsp;first-ever telephonic conversation between the foreign ministers of India and Madagascar and shows signs of increased engagement between the two&nbsp;countries.&nbsp;The last bilateral visit of the President of Madagascar to India was in 1980, with the Indian President visiting the country in 2018.&nbsp;In fact,&nbsp;Madagascar's defence minister had visited India in February for the Aero India show and participated in the Indian ocean defence ministers meet in Bangalore.

In March of 2020, Indian Navy ship INS Shardul had sent 600 tonnes of rice to the country. Under mission Sagar 1, India had sent aid to the country to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.&nbsp;

Last week, Madagascar’s President inaugurated the advanced digital cobalt therapy machine Bhabhatron-II donated by the Government&nbsp;of India to Madagascar in presence of the country's Health Minister and Indian Ambassador Abhay Kumar. It can treat 50 cancer patients every day.

Reaching out to Madagascar yet again, India will be sending 1000 tonnes of rice and malaria medicine to the Indian Ocean island country. Southern Madagascar has been impacted by devastating famine and according to a November 2020 report by the World Food Programme, families are forced to eat insects.

Reaching out to Madagascar yet again, India will be sending 1000 tonnes of rice and malaria medicine to the Indian Ocean island country. Southern Madagascar has been impacted by devastating famine and according to a November 2020 report by the World Food Programme, families are forced to eat insects. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had assured supplies to the foreign minister of Madagascar Tehindrazanarivelo Liva during the telephonic talks on Monday. He tweeted, "Good conversation with FM of Madagascar @Tehindrazanari1 . Informed him that Indian humanitarian assistance would be delivered in the coming days. Will include food and medical supplies." This is the first-ever telephonic conversation between the foreign ministers of India and Madagascar and shows signs of increased engagement between the two countries. The last bilateral visit of the President of Madagascar to India was in 1980, with the Indian President visiting the country in 2018. In fact, Madagascar's defence minister had visited India in February for the Aero India show and participated in the Indian ocean defence ministers meet in Bangalore. In March of 2020, Indian Navy ship INS Shardul had sent 600 tonnes of rice to the country. Under mission Sagar 1, India had sent aid to the country to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Madagascar’s President inaugurated the advanced digital cobalt therapy machine Bhabhatron-II donated by the Government of India to Madagascar in presence of the country's Health Minister and Indian Ambassador Abhay Kumar. It can treat 50 cancer patients every day.

India-Madagascar FMs talk; New Delhi to send 1000 tonnes of rice and malaria medicines

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