Cameroon sets to roll out malaria vaccination programme after successful trials

Cameroon is set to begin the world’s first systematic malaria immunization scheme on Monday, which is expected to save the lives of tens of thousands of children in Africa each year.

The World Health Organization (WHO)-approved RTS vaccine, created by British pharmaceutical GSK, is expected to function alongside existing measures such as bed nets to prevent malaria, which kills almost half a million children under the age of five in Africa each year.

Following successful trials in Ghana and Kenya, Cameroon is the first country to provide doses through a routine immunisation campaign, which 19 other countries plan to implement this year, according to the global vaccine alliance Gavi.

The vaccine took nearly 40 years to make it to the final stage.

Authorities say about 6.6 million children in those countries are targeted for malaria vaccination through 2024-25.

So far, more than 30 nations in Africa have expressed interest in deploying the vaccine, and fears of a supply shortage have diminished after a second vaccine passed a critical regulatory hurdle in December.

While the move for malaria vaccines has been applauded, experts argue that attention and funding should not be neglected in the use of established malaria-prevention tools like bed nets.