The WHO says the mosquito-borne disease killed an estimated 13,839 people in Cameroon in 2021 alone
Cameroon launched a child immunization program for malaria on Monday, using the world’s first vaccine for the disease. Late last year, the Central African country became the first on the continent to receive doses of Mosquirix, manufactured by British drugmaker GSK.
Officials have described the campaign as a milestone in the decades-long effort to combat the mosquito-borne illness on the continent, which the World Health Organization (WHO) says accounts for 96% of the world’s malaria deaths.
According to the global health agency, Cameroon records over six million malaria cases each year, with the disease killing an estimated 13,839 people in 2021 alone, the majority of whom were children under the age of five.
”The vaccination will save lives. It will provide major relief to families and the country’s health system,” said Aurelia Nguyen, chief program officer at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which is helping Cameroon secure the shots.
The WHO approved Mosquirix – the trade name for the RTS,S vaccine – in autumn 2021, following a pilot program in 2019 that provided doses to over 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.
Cameroon took delivery of 331,200 shots in November, and plans to vaccinate approximately 249,133 children aged 0–24 months across 42 health districts in all ten of its regions.
The vaccine offers only about 36% immunity and must be administered in four doses, according to GAVI.