Ghana Approves Malaria Vaccine, First in the World

Ghana Approves Malaria Vaccines, First in the World 

West African country, Ghana, has approved Mosquirix, a new malaria vaccine, the first country to do so.

Development by Oxford University and produced by British company, GSK, the vaccine is for children under three.

Oxford scientist, Adrian Hill, who disclosed the development, said Ghana''s drug regulator approved it for children aged 5 months to 36 months, the age group at highest risk of death from the malaria scourge.

 Following the approval, Ghana signed also signed an agreement with India's Serum Institute to produce up to 200 million doses annually tili 2028.

Hill also disclosed that the approval is the first for a major vaccine to be approved in a West African country ahead of the world's rich nations. 

Malaria kills more than 600,000 people, mostly African children annually.

The World Health Organization, WHO, which approved the drug Mosquirix in 2022 after decades of research, is still assessing the vaccine's safety and effectiveness.

Production was stall for lack of funding as commercial potential thwarted the company's capacity to produce as many dose as needed. The company has however, committed to producing up to 15 million doses of the drug annually till 2028.