Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: PBS
Context: It launched the world’s first malaria vaccine program for children (Mosquirix), aiming to vaccinate about 250,000 children this year and next.
The vaccine, Mosquirix, endorsed by the World Health Organization, is around 30% effective, requires four doses, and has been approved for use despite its imperfections. The campaign is considered a milestone in the fight against malaria in Africa, where the disease accounts for 95% of global malaria deaths. The vaccination effort is part of a broader initiative by Gavi, involving 20 other African countries, with hopes to immunize over 6 million children by 2025.
The R21, otherwise referred to as Matrix-M malaria vaccine, is the second vaccine ever developed for a disease, after RTS, S or mosquirix was approved by the WHO in 2021.
Since 2015, 9 countries have been certified by the WHO Director-General as malaria-free, including Maldives, Sri Lanka , Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Algeria, China (2021) and El Salvador (2021).
Initiatives to Curb Malaria:
| Initiatives | Details |
| Global Initiatives | |
| The WHO’s E-2025 Initiative | Identifies 25 countries with the potential to eradicate malaria by 2025. |
| WHO’s Global Technical Strategy (2016–2030) | Aim to reduce malaria case incidence and mortality rates by at least 40% by 2020, 75% by 2025, and 90% by 2030 against a 2015 baseline. |
| High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) Initiative | Initiated in 11 high malaria burden countries, including India. |
| Implementation of HBHI Initiative: Started in four states: West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. | |
| Indian Initiatives | |
| Government of India’s Target | Set a target to eliminate malaria in India by 2027. |
| National Framework for Malaria Elimination (2016-2030) | Developed to shift focus from control to elimination. |
| National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination | Launched in 2017, providing a roadmap to end malaria in 571 districts out of India’s 678 districts by 2022. |
| Malaria Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India) | Established by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a partnership working on malaria control. |
