Abidjan | “It will be a great relief”: the recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) to deploy a vaccine against malaria raises hopes in sub-Saharan Africa, the continent most affected by this deadly disease, in particular for those suffering from malaria. children.
Face closed and visibly dejected, Fati waits in front of a private clinic in Niamey, capital of Niger, where her son is hospitalized for a malaria attack.
She has reason to be worried: according to the WHO, a child dies from this disease every two minutes in the world.
“Malaria kills our children and it does not spare parents either. Children miss school and parents cannot go to work in the fields. When the vaccine arrives, it will be a great relief, ”she told AFP.
A very old disease, reported since Antiquity, malaria manifests itself by fever, headaches and muscle pains, then by cycles of chills, fever and sweat. If not treated in time, the disease, especially that caused by the parasite that plagues Africa (Psalmodium falciparum), can be fatal.
On October 9, the WHO recommended the massive deployment in children of “RTS, S”, a vaccine from the British pharmaceutical giant GSK, the only one that has so far shown efficacy to significantly reduce cases, including more serious.
Africa accounts for about 90% of malaria cases worldwide, and 260,000 children under five die there each year.
Since 2019, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have started to introduce the vaccine in some areas.
“I am very enthusiastic! My 11 month old daughter had the vaccine and everything was fine. I am sure it is a way to extend the life expectancy of our future generations. We want Ghana to quickly expand the program across the country, ”says Hajia Aminu Bawa, in the Gomoa region in southern Ghana.
“When I heard about it, I didn’t hesitate for a second! Some have tried to talk me out of saying it was a new vaccine that could kill my baby, but they are talking without knowing. Everyone should have their children vaccinated against malaria, ”argues Prince Gyamfi, mother of a six-month-old baby boy in the same region.
“Complement”
For the time being, the methods of prevention against this disease transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles, a mosquito active especially at night, are essentially based on the use of mosquito nets and preventive treatments, not always easily accessible for the populations. .
Not enough according to Dr Djermakoye Hadiza Jackou, coordinator of the National Malaria Control Program in Niger (PNLP).
“We welcomed the announcement of the WHO with great joy. This is something that was really expected. The vaccine will complement other prevention strategies that we have already adopted, ”she said.
Local production?
In neighboring Burkina Faso, another vaccine, developed by the British University of Oxford in collaboration with the American Novavax, also showed promising efficacy, after a clinical trial in 2019.
But, according to Dr. Wilfried Sawadogo, doctor from Ouagadougou, the vaccine should not replace other methods of prevention, such as impregnated mosquito nets or the preventive administration of long-acting antimalarials, during the rainy season. A method popularized in this country with 11 million annual cases, since 2014.
“This campaign is helping to reduce malaria-related deaths by 25% to 30%,” he explains.
But will countries be able to deploy this vaccine on a large scale and at what cost for the populations?
“Who is going to finance? Is the international community ready? (…) And will the sufficient quantity be available? ” asks Serge Assi, medical researcher at the Pierre Richet institute in Bouaké (central Côte d’Ivoire), who emphasizes that it was necessary “to wait decades” for this vaccine.
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo has no vaccines against malaria available on its territory,” recalls the director of the Expanded Program on Immunization of this country, Dr Elisabeth Mukamba.
“It is now up to Africa to soak up this technology, this knowledge, to produce vaccines rather than import them. This is a major issue, ”said Christian Happi, director of the African Center of Excellence for Genomic Research and Infectious Diseases (Acegid) based in Ede, in southwest Nigeria.
The fight against malaria will also require a long work on infrastructure because the rainy season and the recurrent floods that accompany it in many countries generally lead to a jump in cases.
“If we die of malaria in Africa, it is because we live in total insalubrity or, which says insalubrity, says mosquitoes,” points out Ousmane Danbadji, specialist in sanitation issues in Niger.