African Union to start talks with WHO on malaria vaccine rollout on the continent.
Africa will begin discussions with the World Health Organization as soon as possible about bringing the first authorized malaria vaccine to the continent,
according to the African Union’s top health official,
amid demands for financing for medicines other than COVID-19.
a British pharmaceutical company. The proposal, according to experts,
maybe a significant step forward in the fight against a disease that kills a quarter of a million African children each year.
“In the coming days, we will be interacting with GAVI (the vaccine alliance) and WHO to understand first and foremost the availability of this vaccine,”
said Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
He encouraged funders not to engage in a zero-sum game by “funding COVID vaccinations while ignoring malaria vaccines.”
He added it was uncertain when the vaccine will be available in the numerous African nations where malaria is prevalent since the cost per dose remained unknown and manufacturing could not be ramped up fast.
GSK has committed to producing 15 million doses of Mosquirix per year until 2028 at a cost of production plus a profit of no more than 5%.
If used in regions with moderate to high malaria transmission,
worldwide market research conducted by the WHO this year estimated that demand for a malaria vaccine would reach 50 to 110 million doses per year by 2030.
Nkengasong praised the WHO for recommending widespread use of the malaria vaccine,
describing malaria as a significant killer in Africa. He predicted that by the end of 2021,
malaria would have killed much more people in Africa, particularly children than COVID-19 has this year.
Mosquirix has taken 30 years to develop.
Since 2019, a WHO-coordinated pilot program in three African nations has given out 2.3 million doses of the vaccine.
In December, GAVI will decide whether and how to fund the vaccine campaign.
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SOURCE:
African Union to start talks with WHO on malaria vaccine rollout on the continent
