Will Mozambique have a Malaria vaccine by 2017?

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Will Mozambique have a Malaria vaccine by 2017?

2:09 CAT | 26 Apr 2016

RFi (File photo) / A bed covered by a mosquito net in São João dos Angolares, in São Tomé and Príncipe

In Mozambique, the last tests prior to a commercialization of a Malaria vaccine are about to be carried out. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published on World Malaria Day, April 25, six African countries – Cape Verde, Algeria, Swaziland, Botswana, South Africa and the Comores – could eradicate malaria by 2020.

Speaking at a World Malaria Day meeting, Cape Verde President Jorge Carlos Fonseca issued a statement on the archipelago’s fight against the killer disease.

“With regard to malaria, Cape Verdeans can be pleased with 2015 results, when efforts to eliminate mosquitoes, improve health services and invest in awareness and information have led to the accomplishment of relevant Millennium goals. Mortality is down from 1.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2006 to 0.2 per 100,000 (below 1 per 100,000 inhabitants) in 2012 – meaning that the country has achieved the pre-elimination of malaria.”

Another report, published on April 20 of this year in Copenhagen, home to the WHO European headquarters, revealed that in 2015 malaria infected 214 million people worldwide and killed 438,000.

There is currently no vaccine on the market, but several laboratories are working on one. In Mozambique, final tests are about to be carried out prior to the possible commercialization of a vaccine in 2017.

The Director of the National Program for Malaria Control in the Ministry of Health of Mozambique, Dr. Baltazar Candrinho, explains that, before being marketed, pilot studies to test safety and compliance need to be carried out.

Source: RFi