Gavi invites African countries to apply for malaria vaccine assistance

LONDON (ANTARA) – Nine months after the world’s first malaria vaccine was recommended for use, the international vaccine alliance Gavi has invited countries to apply for funding to vaccinate their communities, especially children in Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) last October made recommendations for a four-dose vaccine, Mosquirix, made by GSK Plc.

The WHO says the vaccine could save thousands of lives.

Now, Gavi has available funds of 155.7 million US dollars (approximately Rp2.33 trillion) during 2022 to 2025 for initial vaccine distribution.

The alliance invites various countries to apply for funding and assistance to provide vaccine injections.

The development is an advance for the vaccine, which has been in development for decades.

On average every one minute, malaria can kill one child.

However, vaccine distribution is expected to start slowly. Its supply is well below the demand for it in recent years, according to a Reuters investigation.

African countries that have been involved in the initial program using the vaccine, namely Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, can apply in advance until September to expand the use of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, other countries can apply until the end of the year, Gavi said in a statement.

“Efforts to get a malaria vaccine have been long and difficult,” said Gavi chief executive Seth Berkley.

Along with using methods such as installing mosquito nets, Berkley hopes the new tool, a vaccine, will “save more lives in the countries most affected by this deadly disease.”

Sumber: Reuters

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Translator: Aria Cindyara
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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