Geneva: The worlds first malaria vaccine has been launched in Malawi following more than 30 years of coordinated efforts to protect children from the deadly disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the Government of Malawis landmark pilot program.

With the launch of the first malaria vaccine, known as RTS,S, Malawi becomes the first of three countries in Africa to make the vaccine available to children up to 2 years of age. Ghana and Kenya will introduce the vaccine in the coming weeks, said a WHO statement.

Malaria is one of the worlds leading causes of death, and claims the life of one child every two minutes. Most of these deaths are in Africa.

According to WHO estimates, India accounts for 89 per cent of malaria cases in South-East Asia. As per the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), 1,090,724 cases and 331 deaths due to malaria were reported in 2016 in the country. Children below the age of five years are at greatest risk of life-threatening complications.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, stated that there have been massive benefits from bed nets and other measures to control malaria over the last 15 years; however, the progress has come to a halt and even reversed in certain areas. Ghebreyesus stated that new solutions are required to get the response back on track. This vaccine is a promising tool to get there.

Thirty years in the making, the vaccine is the first, and the only one that has demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce malaria in children. Clinical trials found the vaccine to prevent approximately 4 in 10 malaria cases, including 3 in 10 cases of life-threatening severe malaria.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said that malaria is a constant threat in Africa where this vaccine will be provided.

The pilot program is designed to generate evidence and experience to inform WHO policy recommendations on the broader use of the vaccine. It will analyze reductions in child deaths; vaccine uptake, including whether parents bring their children on time for the four required doses; and vaccine safety in terms of routine use.

The vaccine represents a complementary malaria control tool, to be added to the WHO-recommended malaria prevention measures, including routine use of insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor spraying with insecticides, and timely malaria testing and treatment.

The malaria vaccine pilot program aims to reach about 360,000 children per year across the three countries. Ministries of Health will determine where the vaccine will be given. The focus will be on areas with moderate-to-high malaria transmission, where the vaccine can have the greatest impact.

In selected areas in the three countries, the vaccine will be provided in 4 doses: three doses between 5 and 9 months of age and the fourth dose around the second birthday.