(Health): Kenya Expands the Use of the World’s first Malaria Vaccine in the Country.

 

At the vaccination centre at Kimogoi Dispensary Hamisi Sub-county in western Kenya, mothers bring their children to receive the jab.

Kenya is one of three countries, along with Ghana and Malawi, where the RTS,S malaria vaccine is already in use.

Malaria is an acute febrile illness caused by parasites, which are spread to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

According to the World Health Organisation, the RTS,S vaccine acts against Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite globally and the most prevalent in Africa.

The extension announcement by the Ministry of Health on Monday, March 6, 2023, follows a recommendation from the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group for use of vaccination within Kenya’s lake-endemic region and the WHO recommendation for broader use of the vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high malaria transmission.

OneForumNews1