The first malaria vaccine will be available in Cameroon in January 2024. According to the Expanded Immunization Program (ENP), the country is preparing to receive 249,133 doses of the first malaria vaccine, RTS,S. For the first phase, only children aged 6 to 24 months will be affected, announced Dr. Njoh Ateke Andreas, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the ENP.
To obtain the first doses of vaccine, the government filed an application with GAVI, the vaccine alliance.
The RTS,S, a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), should reduce the burden of malaria in the country by about 70%.
In July 2022, GAVI launched a procedure allowing countries to request funding and support for the deployment of RTS,S vaccine in Africa. This international support, amounting to nearly US$160 million over the period 2022-2025, aims to improve access to the vaccine for children at high risk of malaria disease and death on the African continent.
“It took more than 50 years to develop a vaccine against malaria. But it took until its launch to remind us what to do now if we want these vaccines to be accessible to all children who need them,” Dr. Seth Berkley, Executive Director of Gavi.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is a public-private partnership that contributes to the vaccination of half of the world’s children against some of the deadliest diseases. Since its creation in 2000, Gavi has helped vaccinate an entire generation – more than 981 million children – and eventually prevent more than 16.2 million deaths, halving child mortality in 73 low-income countries. Gavi also plays an essential role in improving global health security by supporting health systems and financing global stocks of vaccines against Ebola virus disease, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever.
