Cameroon begins routine malaria shots in global milestone

Bangkok Post Group

The world's first routine vaccination program against malaria was launched on Monday in Cameroon - though there were concerns over low turnout. - REUTERS

Transcript

00:00 The global fight against malaria took a step forward on Monday.

00:05 But as Cameroon launched the world's first routine vaccine program against the mosquito-borne disease,

00:10 there were concerns that only a few people had turned up for shots.

00:14 Health workers in some centres said parents had not been adequately informed about the vaccine

00:19 and some were afraid to consent to their children receiving it.

00:22 At the Jipoma District Hospital in Douala, Audrey Stella is one of those who declined the vaccine for her child.

00:29 "The reason I didn't agree is because I wasn't made aware.

00:35 I didn't know it existed. I think we haven't talked about it."

00:39 Asako Nadesh is the head nurse at Jipoma.

00:42 "I would have liked more noise to be made about it so that even in vaccination centres, they talk about it more.

00:52 When mothers are not informed, they are afraid."

00:55 Malaria kills nearly half a million children under the age of five in Africa every year.

01:00 The battle against the disease has also been hindered in recent years

01:03 by issues including disruption linked to the global health crisis.

01:07 Cases rose by around 5 million year-on-year in 2022, according to the World Health Organization.

01:13 At a briefing on Monday, health experts said the rollout was accompanied by extensive community outreach

01:18 in a bid to tackle vaccine hesitancy.

01:23 The next shot being deployed is the WHO-approved RTSS vaccine developed by British drugmaker GSK.

01:30 Another vaccine developed by Oxford University, R21, could be launched in May or June, according to Gavi.

01:37 The Global Vaccine Alliance also said that 19 other countries are planning to roll out the routine vaccine programme this year.

01:44 However, some experts have expressed scepticism about the potential impact of the vaccines.

01:50 "Their attention and funding should not be drawn away from the wider fight against the age-old killer

01:55 and the use of established preventative tools like bed nets."

01:59 Nevertheless, the head of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said having two vaccines for malaria

02:05 will help close the huge gap between demand and supply and could save tens of thousands of lives.

02:11 Or, as put simply by Mohamed Abdelaziz of the Africa Centres for Disease Control,

02:16 time we have been waiting for a day like this.

02:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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