First batch of second WHO-approved malaria vaccine arrives in Central African Republic
More than 43,000 doses have arrived in the country, where the disease has claimed about 5,180 lives this year.
MADRID, May 25. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) delivered this Saturday to the Central African Republic more than 43,000 doses of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, the second malaria vaccine approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The delivery arrived this morning in the capital, Bangui, in anticipation of a further 120,000 doses to follow in the coming days, making CAR the first country to receive the R21 malaria vaccine for daily use in child care, “another step forward”. in preventing disease and saving children’s lives,” UNICEF reports.
R21 is the second malaria vaccine recommended by WHO for children living in endemic areas. With this supply, there is now enough vaccine to expand malaria vaccination in Africa.
“With two products now available to countries, the increased supply of malaria vaccines represents a turning point for children’s survival and health,” applauded UNICEF Supply Director Leila Pakkala.
“Earlier concerns about the need for supplies to meet demand are behind us. Our priority now is to provide vaccines to all children at risk,” he said.
UNICEF reiterates that R21 and RTS,S vaccines are safe and effective in preventing malaria in children. The RTS,S vaccine was administered to more than two million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in a four-year pilot program that demonstrated a 13 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.
Malaria is one of the world’s deadliest diseases, killing nearly half a million children under the age of five every year in Africa.
The Central African Republic has one of the highest rates of malaria in the world. It is estimated that there will be 1,733,000 cases of malaria in the country in 2022, with an average of 4,747 cases per day. The disease also claimed about 5,180 lives during the year, or 14 deaths every day.