Oxford Scientist Adrian Hill says that the Ghana drug regulator has licensed the vaccine for the age group most at risk of dying from malaria.
A World Health Organization (WHO) World Malaria Report reveals that the African region continues to bear the brunt of malaria.
In 2021, 234 million cases and 593, 000 deaths from Malaria were recorded in the African region.
WHO notes that four countries accounted for nearly half of all malaria cases globally.
Nigeria is said to be the most hit with 26.6% cases higher followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo with 12.3%.
Uganda is in third place with 5.1%, Mozambique with 4.1%, Burkina Faso with 3.3%, Mali with 3.1%, and Ghana with 2.2%.
Malaria is a disease that spreads to humans through the bites of some infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
The life-threatening disease can also be transmitted through blood transfusion and contaminated needles.
Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, fatigue, seizure, convulsion, and difficulty in breathing.
The symptoms depend on how mild or severe the case may be.
Although Malaria may cause death, it is curable and preventable when detected early.
Malaria Vaccine
Oxford University has developed a novel malaria vaccine to tackle the spread of the disease.
After decades of research, WHO approved the first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix from the British pharmaceutical company GSK (GSK.L).
However, it is unable to create as many dosages as required due to a lack of capital and commercial feasibility.
Up to 15 million doses of the Mosquirix vaccine will be produced annually by GSK through 2028.
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However, WHO estimates that about 100 million doses a year of the four-dose vaccination will be required in the long run to cover about 25 million children.
Therefore, the production would be far less than the vaccines required.
Ghana Approval
Ghana has approved the usage of the vaccine in the country, despite not being one of the top four affected.
This approval makes it the first nation in the world with children under the age of three to benefit from the vaccine.
Oxford Scientist Adrian Hill says that the Ghana drug regulator has licensed the vaccine for the age group most at risk of dying from malaria- infants between the age of 5- 36 months.
Hill says a contract has been signed with the Serum Institute of India to provide about 200 million doses yearly.
The scientist notes that this is the first time a significant vaccination has been licensed in an African country before other nations.
He adds that it was remarkable for an African regulatory body to have evaluated the data earlier than the WHO.
“Particularly since COVID, African regulators have been taking a much more proactive stance, they’ve been saying…we don’t want to be last in the queue,” the scientist says.
Nevertheless, it is unclear when the Oxford vaccine will be rolled out in Ghana.
