By Abujah Racheal
The Society for Family Health (SFH) has said that the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine for children in sub-Saharan Africa, and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission, was pushing the last miles in malaria control.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has just recommended the widespread use of the RTS, S/AS01 (RTS, S) malaria vaccine, to specifically fight high P. falciparum malaria transmission.
Dr Ernest Nwokolo, Project Director, Global Fund for Malaria, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH), Practice Lead, SFH, said on Thursday, in Abuja, that P. falciparum malaria was the most vicious and virulent malaria parasite around the world.
Nwokolo stated that the P. falciparum was the most prevalent in Africa where it kills over 260,000 children, under the age of five, annually, with Nigeria as one of the worst affected countries in the world, alongside the DR Congo.
He noted that the vaccine, which was the result of over 30 years of R&D by GlaxoSmithKline and through a partnership with PATH and other African research centres, was seen as an additional tool in the preventative armamentarium being unleashed against malaria.
The SFH director stated that it would contribute to saving tens of thousands of lives, if implemented properly, adding that the vaccine, RTS, S/AS01 would be provided in a schedule of four doses to children from five months, to reduce the malaria disease and burden.
“The pilot testing of this vaccine, which has been on since 2019 in Ghana, Malawi and Kenya, has reached 800,000 children with 2.3 million doses and will continue even after deployment to further provide knowledge about its long term impact on children and the effectiveness of the fourth vaccine dose.
”The vaccine will be deployed in regions with moderate to high transmission,” he said.
Being one of the worst hit by malaria, Nigeria has every reason to be optimistic with the incipient deployment of this vaccine. Early engagement, planning and deployment is expected to be critical in harvesting the good outcomes of the new vaccine, Nwokolo said.
He explained that it was also expected that governments and programmes would facilitate the deployment of this vaccine as an additional preventive resource rather than a one-shot, single bullet replacement strategy.
“Accordingly, weaving the roll out within the confines of already existing successful interventions, as well as ensuring that the other preventive and curative actions are sustained, seem to be the best way to tap the positive outcomes of this new vaccine development.
“Early actions such as policy adjustments, vaccine advocacy, integrated and sustained deployment, through already successful intervention models, appropriate quantification as well as funds mobilization are key steps that Nigerian implementers must be pushing now.
“Articulated stratification of effective interventions targeting different épidémiologies and groups might also be considered in the face of resource constraints.
“Opportunities and excitement created by the arrival of this new vaccine must be explored to revive and expand all levels and layers of partnership,” he stated.
Nwokolo added that with sustained efforts, Nigeria and other affected sub-Saharan African countries might well be taking definite last steps towards malaria elimination.
“This might just be it! It’s an exciting period! Let’s live it,” he said.
Speaking on SFH’s work on malaria, he disclosed that the organization had so far gifted 51,963,093 long lasting insecticide treated nets to 101,342,294 beneficiaries, while over 10 million people had been reached with SBC malaria messages.
“We just concluded a malaria campaign in Ogun state where 3,735,791 nets were distributed to 7,054,185 beneficiaries under the Global Fund Malaria Project New Funding Model (NFM) phase 2.
”The project was implemented between 2018 – 2020 in Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Osun, Delta, Ogun and Kwara,” he said.
He noted that the organization had also provided strategic behaviour change intervention at the community level using advocacy to stakeholders, house-to-house interpersonal communication and community dialogues to positively influence community members.
This was with a view to demand and access malaria services provided through the public health facilities by the other consortium partners using funding from the grant, he said.
Nwokolo added that the organization also promoted malaria messaging, through engagement with mass media agencies and the social media.
“SFH also successfully implemented technology-driven LLIN campaigns in select states – Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Osun, Kwara — using funding from this grant and working in collaboration with MSH, MC, CRS and NMEP and several CSOs.
“The Global Fund Malaria Project New Funding Model (NFM) Phase 1, was earlier implemented in 24 states from 2015 -2017”, Nwokolo said.
The project, he explained, provided facility-based malaria prevention and treatment services through private health facilities and capacity building of health service providers, last mile delivery of malaria commodities (LLIN, ACTs, RDTs, SPs) to the supported facilities, in addition to regular supportive supervisory support.”
