Explained: First malaria vaccine tested in Malawi. Why this is big for India

It is also important because as global warming becomes more and more severe there are predictions of vectors such as mosquitos seeing an explosive rise the world over, including in areas where they are traditionally not found

Malaria, according to the World Health Organisation, remains one of the world’s leading killers, claiming the life of one child every two minutes.

Most of these deaths are in Africa, where more than 250 000 children die from the disease every year. Children under 5 are at greatest risk of its life-threatening complications. Worldwide, malaria kills 435 000 people a year, most of them children.

India ranks very high in the list of countries with a serious malaria burden. In 2018, 399134 malaria cases were reported in the country, says data from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme.

There were also 85 malaria deaths. There are questions repeatedly asked about the veracity of the Indian data with some reports suggesting India may just record 8% of the actual number of malaria cases.

“We 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. We need new solutions to get the malaria response back on track, and this vaccine gives us a promising tool to get there. The malaria vaccine has the potential to save tens of thousands of children’s lives,” says WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

What is this vaccine?

The vaccine is being called RTS,S. It is the first, and to date, the only, vaccine that has demonstrated it can significantly reduce malaria in children. In clinical trials, the vaccine was found to prevent approximately 4 in 10 malaria cases, including 3 in 10 cases of life-threatening severe malaria.