In addition to Cameroon, about twenty other countries plan to implement the vaccine program during the current year.
Cameroon is the first country in the world to start a systematic vaccination program against malaria. The news agency reports on the matter, among others Reuters.
The vaccine program is aimed at young children in Cameroon in the 42 regions worst affected by the disease. Children are vaccinated with the RTS,S malaria vaccine approved by the World Health Organization, developed by the British pharmaceutical company GSK.
The national vaccine program is believed to save the lives of thousands of children in Africa every year.
According to the WHO more than 600,000 people died of malaria worldwide in 2022. 95 percent of the deaths occur in Africa: there, malaria kills almost half a million children under the age of five every year. Malaria is spread by mosquitoes.
According to Gavi, the global vaccine association, in addition to Cameroon, about twenty African countries plan to implement the vaccine program during the current year. During the years 2024–2025, more than six million children are estimated to be covered by the vaccine program.