The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced the world’s first malaria vaccine will be given to about 360,000 children in three African countries as part of a large-scale pilot project.
Malawi has already begun vaccinating children under the age of two and Kenya and Ghana will commence vaccinations in the coming weeks.
According to WHO, the vaccine allows for partial protection from the disease and clinical trials have found that approximately four in 10 malaria cases were prevented as a result.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says "[they] have seen tremendous gains from bed nets and other measures to control malaria in the last 15 years, but progress has stalled and even reversed in some areas. [They] need new solutions to get the malaria response back on track, and this vaccine gives [them] a promising tool to get there. The malaria vaccine has the potential to save tens of thousands of children's lives."