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CEO of Amref Health Africa, a nonprofit organization, Dr. “The vaccine saves lives, but it will not be a silver bullet,” Githinji Gitahi said.
The vaccine, called Mosquirix, targets the deadliest malaria parasite and the most common in Africa – Plasmodium falciparum. Dr. Gitahi said that while vaccines are a “major contribution to the fight” against malaria, health authorities will need to introduce a “Swiss cheese strategy” that includes pesticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor spraying.
Faith Walucho is the mother of an 11-month-old boy who was recently diagnosed with malaria. The 29-year-old trader, who trades second-hand clothes in Kisumu city in western Kenya, said he was “very happy” to receive the news of the vaccine. An estimated 10,700 deaths from malaria in Kenya recorded annually, and Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria, high malaria areas where the vaccine was tested.
As soon as she found a dose for her daughter, Ms. Walucho said, “I’m going to run” to get it.
In Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, Jenala Mwafulirwa, a 52-year-old mother of five, welcomed the news of the vaccine and said that many children in her family have contracted the disease, especially in rural areas where there is no access to healthcare. Limited.
“This vaccine came at the right time,” he said.
But in some places, people have expressed skepticism about the vaccine, in part because of distrust of the World Health Organization.
“I wonder why they want to help Africa,” said 40-year-old teacher Mamadou Tounkara in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. He asked why WHO wasn’t funding better hygiene and sanitation systems instead. “If WHO wants to eradicate this disease, it can do so without a vaccine.”
But public health officials say the vaccine, which has been in development for more than 30 years, has already proven to be an important weapon in the fight against the disease.
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