As FG rolls out malaria vaccine

The federal government recently launched a Malaria vaccine to be administered on children aged five to 15 months as part of routine immunisation. Children under 5 years of age accounted for about 76 per cent of all malaria deaths in 2023, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) malaria report in Africa. Malaria is caused […]

The federal government recently launched a Malaria vaccine to be administered on children aged five to 15 months as part of routine immunisation. Children under 5 years of age accounted for about 76 per cent of all malaria deaths in 2023, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) malaria report in Africa.

Malaria is caused by the malaria parasite transmitted through an infected mosquito bite. Before now, it has been impossible to develop a vaccine for the disease because there are about 100 types of malaria parasites, all with a complex life cycle.

The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN) in Abuja, rightly described malaria as not just a health crisis, but also an economic and developmental emergency that must be eliminated.

“Malaria continues to exert an unacceptable toll on Nigeria. With 27 per cent of global malaria cases and 31 per cent of global malaria deaths, our country bears the heaviest burden of this disease. In 2022, over 180,000 Nigerian children under the age of five lost their lives to malaria- a tragedy we have the tools to prevent,” he said.

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On its economic consequences he stated: “This is not just a health crisis; it is an economic and developmental emergency. Malaria reduces productivity, increases out-of-pocket health expenditures and compounds the challenges of poverty. The annual loss to Nigeria’s GDP from malaria exceeds $1.1billion, a stark reminder of the economic imperative of elimination.”

According to the United States Centre for Disease Control: “The current malaria vaccines reduce uncomplicated malaria by 40 per cent, severe malaria by 30 per cent and all-cause mortality by 13 per cent.”

The first phase of the rollout was launched in November 2024 in Kebbi and Bayelsa states, where malaria is most prevalent. At the launch of the vaccine in Kebbi State on December 2, 2024, Dr Nasir Bala Zurmi of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that there was high mortality rate of half a million children each year in Africa caused by malaria, adding that the vaccine would have the greatest impact in African countries like Nigeria and the initiative marks a major milestone in the fight against malaria in our country.

The UNICEF Chief of Field Officer, Sokoto, Michael Juma, explained that the anti-malaria vaccine is the first of its kind introduced in Nigeria and malaria affects 31 per cent of Nigeria’s across the globe population, with 200,000 deaths recorded annually, while in Kebbi State, 49 per cent of children under one year suffer death from malaria and the vaccine was aimed to change that narrative.

For a country that bears a significant burden of the malaria disease and with a high poverty rate, this is no doubt a welcome development.

According to the 2023 World Malaria Report, nearly 200,000 people died from malaria in Nigeria. Nigeria is also one of four countries that account for nearly half of all global malaria cases. The other countries are Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Mozambique.

Nigeria should therefore lead its African counterparts in taking ownership of this malaria vaccine. This is necessary because the disease is a major public health concern in the country, with the costs of treatment beyond what many average families can afford.

We look forward to the day when more research would be carried out so that adults, not just children, can also benefit from this bulwark against this killer disease. There is also the need to carry out local research so as to come up with home grown solutions.

This is necessary so as not to continue to depend on foreign efforts for a disease that is largely more prevalent in Africa.

Also, going by the controversy that nearly derailed the polio vaccine immunisation in the not too distant past, there should be deliberate enlightenment effort and engagement with parents, religious, traditional and community leaders, to get the people to cooperate for the success of the laudable initiative.

The main cause of malaria, which is mostly spread to people through the bites of mosquitoes that have found haven in our environment due to unhygienic practices, must be confronted head-on. The message must be on preventing the disease rather than struggling to find a cure for it.