Cameroon Leads the Way with World’s First Malaria Vaccine Programme
Cameroon is launching the world’s first routine malaria vaccine programme, part of a global effort that is expected to save the lives of thousands of children across Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO)-approved RTS,S vaccine, developed by British drugmaker GSK, is aimed at infants in Cameroon’s 42 worst-affected districts.
The central African country will be the first to administer doses as part of a routine immunization program, following successful pilot campaigns in Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi.
Health officials described the rollout, which is set to begin on Monday, as a watershed moment in the continent’s decades-long fight against malaria.
According to the global vaccine alliance Gavi, twenty other countries plan to implement the programme this year.
The four-dose vaccine is only about 30% effective, and protection starts to wane after a few months. GSK stated that it can only produce approximately 15 million doses per year.
