Ghana is the first country to approve a new malaria vaccine that scientists have called a “world‑changer.” The vaccine, known as R21, appears to be highly effective, a stark contrast to earlier attempts in the field, according to the BBC. Ghana’s drug regulators have reviewed the final trial data on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy—data that have not yet been made public—and have decided to authorize its use. The World Health Organization is also considering approval.
Malaria kills about 620,000 people each year, most of them young children. Developing a vaccine that protects against the malaria parasite has been a massive, century‑long scientific undertaking. Preliminary trial data from Burkina Faso showed that R21 was up to 80 % effective when administered in three initial doses followed by a booster a year later. However, widespread use depends on the results of a larger trial involving nearly 5,000 children. Those results were expected at the end of 2022 but have not yet been officially published, although they have been shared with some African government bodies and scientists. Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority, having seen the data, has approved the vaccine for children aged five months to three years.
Other African countries are also reviewing the data, as is the WHO. Prof. Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford—where the vaccine was developed—said African nations are determined to act after being left behind in the COVID‑19 vaccine rollout. He expects R21 to make a major impact on malaria mortality in children in the coming years and, in the longer term, to contribute to the ultimate goal of malaria eradication.
The Serum Institute of India is preparing to produce 100–200 million doses per year, with a vaccine factory under construction in Accra, Ghana. Each dose of R21 is expected to cost only a few dollars. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute, described developing a vaccine to significantly reduce this huge disease burden as “extraordinarily difficult” and called Ghana’s approval a “significant milestone in our efforts to combat malaria around the world.”
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