Malaria vaccine shows promising results in Malawi

Ministry of Health says the prevalence of malaria among under five children has significantly reduced in the 11 districts where malaria vaccine is being administered.

The Ministry’s Spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe told Malawi News Agency (Mana) that since the vaccine was rolled out in 2019, it has proved to be effective to the extent that anti-malarial drugs in the districts where the vaccine was rolled out have been expiring due to low demand.

Some of the districts where the malaria vaccine is being administered are Karonga, Ntchisi, Mangochi, Balaka and Nkhotakota.

“Generally the response has been good; currently, we have applied to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) so that we get more vaccines to scale up to other districts,” Chikumbe disclosed.

He also commended the media and community volunteers who are encouraging communities to ensure children receive all the four doses of the malaria vaccine.

Public Health expert, Dr. Bridget Malewezi observed that the results were encouraging and it would be critical to expand to other districts, noting that way, the country would move towards eliminating malaria as a public health threat.

On his part, Health Ambassador, Maziko Matemba described the news as positive and an indication that Malawi can end malaria by 2030.

“We need to ensure that we continue utilizing other malaria prevention strategies such as mosquito nets, Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and others. I believe this will help in containing the disease because the vaccine alone cannot end malaria.” Matemba said.