Wetin to know about di new cheap malaria vaccine wey WHO dey support

Di World Health Organization don recommend one malaria vaccine wey dey cheap and wey dem fit produce on a massive scale.

Na di University of Oxford develop di vaccine and na di second only malaria vaccine wey go dey developed.

Malaria dey mostly kill babies and infants, and na one of di biggest scourge on humanity.

Na one complex parasite dey cause di disease, wey dey spread by di bite of blood-sucking mosquitoes.

E dey far more sophisticated pass di disease, e dey hide from our immune system as e dey constantly shift shape inside pesin body.

Dis make am hard to build up immunity naturally through catching malaria, and make am dey difficult to develop a vaccine against am.

Dis breakthrough dey come almost two years afta di first vaccine – dem call RTS,S wey GSK develop and wey get di support of di WHO.

Two similar vaccines

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, wey be di director-general of WHO, tok say dis na moment of "great pleasure".

"I dey always dream of di day we go get safe and effective vaccine against malaria, now we don get two," e tok.

Di WHO tok say di effectiveness of di two vaccines dey "very similar" and no evidence dey to show say one beta pass di oda.

However, di key difference na di ability to manufacture di University of Oxford vaccine – wey dem call R21 - at scale.

Di world largest vaccine manufacturer - di Serum Institute of India – don already dey di line to make more dan 100 million doses for one year and plans dey to increase am up to 200 million doses a year.

So far na only 18 million doses of RTS,S dey ground.

Di WHO tok say di new R21 vaccine go be "vital additional tool". Each dose go cost $2-4 (£1.65 to £3.30) and na four doses dey needed per person. Dat na about half di price of RTS,S.

Di two vaccines dey use similar technologies and e dey target di same stage of di malaria parasite lifecycle.

However, di newer vaccine dey easier to manufacture and e require smaller dose and e dey use simpler adjuvant (one chemical dem dey put for di vaccine wey dey make di immune system swing into action).

For 2021, 247 million cases of malaria na im and 619,000 pipo die sake of am, most of dem children under di age of five. More dan 95% of malaria dey happun for Africa.

Life-saving potential

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, di WHO regional director for Africa, tok say: "Dis second vaccine hold real potential to close di huge demand-and-supply gap.

"Delivered to scale and rolled out widely, di two vaccines fit help sustain malaria prevention, control effort and save hundreds of thousands of young lives."

Data wey dem don publish online but wey neva go through di usual process of scientific review, show say di R21 vaccine dey 75% effective at preventing di disease for areas where malaria na seasonal.

Di WHO strategic advisory group of experts tok say di figure dey comparable to di first vaccine (RTS,S) in seasonal areas.

Di effectiveness of malaria vaccines dey lower for areas wia di parasite dey present all di time.

Prof Sir Adrian Hill, director of di Jenner Institute in Oxford where dem develop R21 tok say: "Di vaccine dey easily deployable, cost effective and affordable, ready for distribution in areas wia e dey needed di most, and e get potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives a year."

Gareth Jenkins, from Malaria No More UK, tok say: "Di reality na malaria financing globally dey far from wia e suppose plus annual deaths from malaria bin rise during di pandemic and e still dey above pre-pandemic levels, so we no fit afford to dey satisfied as new tools dey comot."