Health
While Nigerians await the introduction of the novel RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine to curb the ravaging effects of the deadly virus, Nigerians are advised to continue to keep their environments clean, keep their gutters free of stagnant water and continue to use their mosquito treated nets.
By Anthony Isibor.
SIX months after the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine was discovered in October 6, 2021, the number of deaths caused by malaria in Nigeria and other African countries still stands at an alarming 602,000 people as reported by the World Health Organisation, WHO.
The figure was disclosed by Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, during the 2022 Malaria Day celebration message to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day.
“Malaria remains a significant public health and development challenge. In the last year, about 95 per cent of the estimated 228 million cases occurred in the WHO/AFRO Region, along with 602,020 reported deaths.
When the long awaited vaccine was finally realized in 2021 after over a hundred years of trial and research, there was jubilation world over, particularly in Africa where the damage caused by the disease had reached a breaking point.
In fact, it was such a remarkable feat that Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General described it as 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, ” he said.
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa added that for centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering.
“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,” he said.
Consequently, WHO recommended that “In the context of comprehensive malaria control, the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by WHO.
“RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria disease and burden,” it said.
Following the recommendation by WHO, the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine pilot was introduced in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and as of December 2021, over 830, 000 children have been vaccinated according to results generated from the ongoing programmes.
The criteria for choosing these three countries were: high coverage of long-lasting insecticidal-treated nets (LLINs), well-functioning malaria and immunization programmes, a high malaria burden despite scale-up of LLINs, and participation in the phase 111 clinical trial.
The pilot programmer is coordinated by WHO and supported by in-country and international partners, including PATH, UNICEF, and GSK, which is donating up to 10 million doses of the vaccine for the pilot. Financing for the pilot programme has been mobilized through an unprecedented collaboration among three key global health funding bodies: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and UNAID.
WHO also reported that to date, more than 2.3 million doses have been administered through routine immunization programmes.
“Community demand for the vaccine is strong and evidence shows it can effectively be delivered through the routine child immunization platform; it is safe in routine use; the vaccine has substantial public health impact in real-life settings; and, that the vaccine increases access to malaria prevention for vulnerable children.
Although Dr Kweku Agyeman-Manu, Health Minister of Ghana, and chairman, Assembly of Health Ministers of the ECOWAS region had announced that Nigeria and other African countries would get access to the newly developed malaria vaccine by the first quarter of 2022, the vaccine is yet to be deployed to Nigeria even though the country accounts for 31.9 per cent of malaria related deaths globally has not received the vaccine
Prof. Wellington Oyibo, the Director Centre for Malaria Diagnosis, Research, Capacity Building and Policy, University of Lagos, noted in an interview that health facilities and systems were lacking for clinical trials of the vaccine to be carried out in Nigeria.
“There are important health systems and infrastructure that should be in place but are not on ground. However, nothing stops the country from negotiating these opportunities. We have our lessons learned and I am confident the country will do better, ” he said.
It is therefore advisable that while Nigeria and other malaria infested countries await the vaccine introduction in their countries, they must harp on the continuous use of the available conventional malaria preventive methods.
Also, a medical expert, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, Former Regional virologist at the World Health Organisation, WHO, while speaking on vaccine inequity, at a High-Level Symposium, African Vaccination Week 2022, to discuss immunization and investment in vaccine production in Africa, in Abuja warned that over-dependence on non-African countries for vaccine is dangerous to the health of Africans, adding that Africans were amongst the last to receive the COVID-19 vaccines because the suppliers must fulfill the needs of their people before sending some doses out.
This underscores the need to continue to look inward in search for a lasting solution to the menace of malaria, especially in Nigeria.
Nigerians must be conscious of their environment, our surroundings must be cleared regularly, even as we use our mosquito treated nets.
First published – May. 09, 2022 @ 05:50 GMT | A I.
Tags: Dr Kweku Agyeman-Manu Matshidiso Moeti Prof. Oyewale Tomori Prof. Wellington Oyibo UNICEF WHO
