The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa has welcomed the announcement that trials of a malaria candidate vaccine shows promising results by providing protection against clinical malaria in children.
The results were announced at the Malaria Forum hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, USA.
Between May 2009 and January 2011, 15460 children from seven countries in Africa, namely, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania took part in the clinical trials. The trials showed that administration of the malaria candidate vaccine called RTS.S was able to prevent about 50-56% of children from developing clinical malaria. The incidence of severe malaria was reduced by about 35% in vaccinated children. The RTS,S candidate vaccine trial is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in 2014.
“The preliminary outcome of these ongoing clinical trials marks a significant milestone in research efforts to control malaria worldwide and in Africa in particular. We look forward to the end product and expect it to be cost-effective. We commend the partnership between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and also congratulate the research teams operating in the different sites within the countries involved”, said Dr Luis Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

Through the Joint Technical Expert Group (JTEG), WHO will review data emerging from the RTS,S trial and other trials of malaria vaccines.

Each year, 250 million cases of malaria occur worldwide with 781,000 deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected with 86% of cases and 90% of deaths mostly in children. The mortality tends to be higher in people living with HIV. Malaria also fuels mortality in pregnant women.