WHO Approves New Malaria Vaccine for Children

The World Health Organization (WHO) approved a new anti-malaria vaccine for children in an abid to offer countries a cheaper option than the world’s first shot against the major child killer.

Malaria is regarded as a high burden on children in the African Region, with nearly half a million children dying each year.

In a statement, WHO said that the R21/Matrix-M vaccine, developed by Britain’s Oxford University, can be used to curb the life-threatening illness spread to humans by mosquitoes, noting that both vaccines are shown to be safe and effective in preventing malaria in children and, when implemented broadly, are expected to have high public health impact.

"It is the second malaria vaccine recommended by WHO, following the RTS, S/AS01 vaccine, which received a WHO recommendation in 2021," the statement read.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said: "As a malaria researcher, I used to dream of the day we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria. Now we have two."