Supplying 30m malaria vaccine doses yearly can prevent 24,000 child deaths — Don

<p>A malaria vaccine advocate, Professor Segun Ademowo, has said if 30 million doses of the vaccine could be supplied globally, about 24,000 deaths of children could be averted yearly.</p>, <p>He, however, decried that lack of funding and commercial potential had slowed down the production of many doses of the vaccine</p>, <p>Ademowo, in a keynote address at the NOI Polls Converge 2023 hybrid meeting in Abuja, with the theme ‘Malaria Vaccine: Accelerating Development, Strengthening Efforts’, said RTS’S malaria vaccine production is still short of demand, adding that increased production of Oxford malaria vaccines and others are needed to fill the gap.</p>, <p>He said there are only six million doses of Oxford malaria vaccines produced and available for GAVI- eligible countries where the vaccines must have been recommended and prequalified.</p>, <p>Professor Ademowo described malaria vaccines as an important additional tool to control malaria in Africa, alongside other interventions such as routine use of insecticide-treated nets, indoor spraying with insecticides, malaria chemoprevention and timely testing and treatment.</p>, <p>The expert highlighted challenges against the malaria vaccine including limited market in developed countries and limited financial resources in malaria-endemic countries, adding that vaccine development entails a high-risk and high-cost process as the malaria parasite has over 6,000 genes.</p>, <p>According to him, “various types of research have shown that the effectiveness of RTS’S is approximately 60 per cent, but significantly wanes over time, even with a booster dose. But lack of funding and commercial potential slowed GSK’s capacity to produce as many doses as needed. There is, therefore, a need for intervention to save the situation.”</p>, <p>NOI Polls CEO, Dr Chike Nwangwu, in his opening remark, said Nigeria has one of the highest malaria burdens in the world, although significant efforts have been geared towards curbing and eradicating the malaise.</p>, <p>Nwangwu stated that a