The World Health Organisation, WHO has called on countries to implement new and existing anti-malaria interventions, including the use of its pilot vaccine programme to save lives, particularly in Africa.
WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus made the appeal in his message to mark the World Malaria Day, is celebrated annually on April 25.
The agency’s latest World Malaria Report, published in December 2022, showed that there was an estimated 247 million new cases of malaria in 2021.
It showed that nearly 1.5 million children at high risk of illness, and death from malaria. It also stated that Ghana, Kenya and Malawi had received the first dose of the first-ever malaria vaccine. The vaccine is part of an on-going WHO-coordinated pilot programme.
The global health body said the malaria vaccine pilots, launched in 2019, are increasing equity in access to prevention tools for the most vulnerable and they are already saving lives.
