Health

WHO endorses use of world’s first malaria vaccine in Africa

The World Health Organization has recommended the widespread rollout of the first malaria vaccine, in a move experts hope could save tens of thousands of children’s lives each year across Africa.

Hailing “an historic day”, the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that after a successful pilot programme in three African countries the RTS,S vaccine should be made available more widely.

“I started my career as a malaria researcher, and I longed for the day that we would have an effective vaccine against this ancient and terrible disease. And today is that day, an historic day. Today, the WHO is recommending the broad use of the world’s first malaria vaccine,” Tedros said at a press conference in Geneva.

The RTS,S vaccine, also known as Mosquirix, was developed by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and has been administered to more than 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi since the pilot programme began in 2019.

The vaccine, which went through lengthy clinical trials, has limited efficacy, preventing 39% of malaria cases and 29% of severe malaria cases among small children in Africa over four years of trials.

However, in August a study led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found that when young children were given both the RTS,S and antimalarial drugs there was a 70% reduction in hospitalisation or death.

“Using this vaccine in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year,” said Tedros on Wednesday. “It is safe. It significantly reduces life-threatening, severe malaria, and we estimate it to be highly cost-effective.”

He added: “Malaria has been with us for millennia, and the dream of a malaria vaccine has been a long-held, but unattainable dream. Today, the RTS,S malaria vaccine, more than 30 years in the making, changes the course of public health history. We still have a very long road to travel. But this is a long stride down that road.”

There have been fears that decades of progress towards ending malaria has stalled, with some countries, such as Eritrea and Sudan, seeing significant resurgences in recent years. In 2019, 409,000 people died from the mosquito-borne parasite disease, most of them in Africa. More than 270,000 of the victims were children under five.

But experts hope the WHO’s announcement will re-energise the race to find other vaccines, a quest that has been going on for almost a century.

Earlier this year, scientists at the Jenner Institute of Oxford University said a vaccine they had developed had shown results that would make it the first to meet the WHO goal of 75% efficacy. Over 12 months the vaccine showed up to 77% efficacy in a trial of 450 children in Burkina Faso. Larger trials are now beginning, involving 4,800 children in four countries.

Thomas Breuer, GSK’s chief global health officer, said: “GSK is proud that RTS,S, our groundbreaking malaria vaccine, developed over decades by our teams and partners, can now be made available to children across sub-Saharan Africa.

“This long-awaited landmark decision can reinvigorate the fight against malaria in the region at a time when progress on malaria control has stalled. Both real-world evidence and clinical trial data show that RTS,S, alongside other malaria prevention measures, has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives.”

GSK said it was committed to supplying up to 15m doses a year at no more than 5% above the cost of production, and would now work with partners, funders and governments to support additional supply of the vaccine.

Professor Sir Brian Greenwood from the LSHTM said: “The RTS,S vaccine does not provide complete protection but this decision is testament to the global health community’s drive and vision to find a way forward. As part of a tailored approach it has great potential to reduce death and illness in high burden areas, especially when combined with other interventions such as seasonal malaria chemoprevention and bed nets, and be a huge boost to malaria control efforts.”

Gareth Jenkins, director of advocacy at the charity Malaria No More, said the announcement was “a truly historic moment” and “another critical step in building our armoury of weapons” against malaria.

Noting the role played by GSK in the development of the RTS,S vaccine, he called on the UK government to continue to invest in cutting-edge research that could “finally bring about a zero-malaria world”.

“This complex, but preventable and treatable disease, causes hundreds of millions of infections each year, risking lives and livelihoods, trapping people in poverty in some of the poorest countries in Africa, and creating ‘disease blind spots’ which threaten our own health security at home. If we save lives from malaria today, we can also protect ourselves against the diseases of tomorrow,” he said.

Health

NCDC records 832 Lassa fever, Mpox cases, 135 deaths

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed the country has recorded 832 confirmed cases of Lassa fever and Mpox.

Speaking during a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, the agency’s Director General, Dr. Jide Idris, revealed that 132 fatalities were recorded from Lassa fever and three from Mpox.

While acknowledging a recent decline in Lassa fever infections during epidemiological week 16 (ending April 20, 2025), he warned that the overall risk remains high, particularly in endemic regions.

“Cumulatively, as of week 16, Nigeria has reported 4,253 suspected cases of Lassa fever, 696 confirmed cases, and 132 deaths, resulting in a case fatality rate of 19.0 percent,” he stated.

Dr. Idris attributed recent improvements to intensified surveillance, treatment efforts, and enhanced community engagement. He emphasized, however, the continued need for vigilance and collaboration to sustain progress.

Regarding Mpox, the NCDC boss disclosed that three deaths have been recorded in 2025—two in Abia and Ebonyi States in week 10, and one recently in Rivers State involving a patient co-infected with HIV and tuberculosis. As of week 16, 723 suspected cases and 136 laboratory-confirmed cases of Mpox have been reported across 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The national case fatality rate currently stands at 2.2 per cent.

“The epidemic curve reveals multiple peaks in Mpox cases, indicating ongoing transmission. While most states have reported suspected cases, confirmed infections are heavily concentrated in Nigeria’s southern and central regions,” Dr. Idris noted.

To address these outbreaks, the NCDC has activated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), deployed National Rapid Response Teams to affected states, and prepositioned essential medical supplies, including personal protective equipment and laboratory consumables. Five additional Mpox diagnostic laboratories have also been optimized in Bauchi, Kano, Cross River, Rivers, and Enugu States.

“Healthcare workers are undergoing specialized training in infection prevention, case management, and cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) care. Community outreach is being reinforced through public awareness campaigns, media engagement, and targeted health communication strategies,” he added.

On cerebrospinal meningitis, Dr. Idris reported a consistent decline in new cases and fatalities over the last three weeks.

He attributed the improvement to effective vaccination, early treatment, and adaptive surveillance strategies tailored to real-time data.

“Although the situation remains serious, strong national and state-level coordination is showing positive results. The response will continue until full containment is achieved and states take full ownership of the CSM Incident Action Plan,” he said.

Dr. Idris also expressed concern about the rising Mpox trend since its reemergence in 2017, with significant spikes recorded between 2022 and 2024, positioning Nigeria among the most affected countries globally. He warned that underreporting and delayed data entry remain challenges that need urgent resolution to ensure accurate and timely outbreak response.

A national mortality review for the recent Mpox deaths is being planned to further assess response effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

The NCDC reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding public health through timely surveillance, transparent reporting, and coordinated national response mechanisms aimed at reducing disease burden and preventing future outbreaks.

Health

Only 89 doctors left in Kwara Govt hospitals amid ‘Japa’ crisis – Health Board

The Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Hospital Management Board, Abdulrahman Malik, disclosed that there is an acute shortage of medical doctors in the state-owned hospitals.

Speaking at the state interministerial press briefing for the first quarter of 2025 on Tuesday, April 29, Malik said that due to the ‘Japa’ syndrome, doctors do not want to take up appointments with the state government, even when the government is ready to recruit them.

He lamented that while between 180 and 200 doctors are required in the government service, only 89 of them are available in the service.

He said the number of available doctors only recently became 89 from 86 when three who had left the service returned after the government introduced a new and improved salary for the doctors’ services.

The hospital board’s boss said the government had been trying to attract doctors to the state service with improved salaries and facilities that could encourage them to stay, especially in the rural areas where many of them do not want to go.

He also disclosed that the government has introduced an intern nurses programme for the training of nurses who would replace many nurses who had left the service for abroad.

“The mass exodus of health professionals is severely affecting our capacity to provide adequate care,” the official said.

“Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved an upgrade in the salaries of our doctors to match federal pay in a bid to retain the few we have left.

“The revised salary structure has led to the return of three doctors who had previously resigned, bringing the total number on the state’s payroll to 89.

“However, the figure still falls short of the estimated 180 to 200 physicians needed to serve the state’s population effectively.

“Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio is currently estimated at one doctor to over 5,000 patients, far below the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended one doctor to 600 patients.”

Health

Wike approves recruitment of 34 resident doctors for FCT hospitals

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has approved the recruitment of 34 resident doctors for a seven-year residency training to enhance health-care delivery in FCT.

Mr Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the minister on Public Communications and Social Media, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

Olayinka explained that the 34 doctors would be the first batch of 60 medical doctors approved for residency training in eight specialities in FCT Administration hospitals.

He said that five out of the 34 doctors would work in the psychiatric department, four in internal medicine and one in general surgery.

Others, he said would comprise one in anesthesiology, eight in family medicine, six in ophthalmology and nine in obstetrics and gynaecology.

“This is the first time this is being done outside employees of the Health Management Board, thereby, giving doctors more opportunity and bringing more competent hands into healthcare delivery in the FCT,” he said.

The spokesman added that the remaining 26 doctors would be recruited in due course by the FCTA Civil Service Commission.

He said that the 26 doctors would comprise one for psychiatry department, four for internal medicine, eight for general surgery, five in anesthesiology, and eight paediatrics.