Breakthrough of malaria vaccine in sight

Saturday, May 3, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 30)
By Rebecca Kwei
Scientists are a few steps away from making a breakthrough in their quest for a safe and effective malaria vaccine.
“We are closer than ever before to having a safe and effective malaria vaccine and research is progressing well,” Dr Daniel Ansong of the School of Medical Sciences, KNUST, said when he made a presentation on “Search for a Malaria Vaccine: Where Are We Now?” at a forum for journalists in Accra.
Malaria kills over one million children every year and 90 per cent of malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
The forum was organised by the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) as part of activities marking World Malaria Day, in collaboration with the Malaria Clinical Trials Alliance (MCTA), the Malaria Consortium, Mozambique, and Indepth Network.
It was on the theme, “Malaria, a Disease Without Borders”, with the sub-theme, “Malaria — The Connection With Other Preventable Diseases”.
About 20 journalists from various media houses took part in the workshop and there were two journalists from Mozambique and a programme officer from the Malaria Consortium, Mozambique.
According to Dr Ansong, the vaccine had the potential to save thousands of lives across Africa, as well as make a positive impact on the economy and the capacity of healthcare systems on the continent.
He said under Phase II of the clinical trials, which began in 1992, scientists were to monitor the safety and potential side effects, measure immune response and preliminary efficacy against infections and clinical diseases and determine optimum dosage and schedule and formulations.
Phase III of the clinical trials, which will begin later this year, will involve continuous safety monitoring, potential side effects and evaluation of efficacy on a large scale.
After the Phase III process, the vaccine application will be submitted to the regulatory authorities for approval.
Dr Ansong said African scientists and doctors were working hard on this advanced research to overcome the huge problem of malaria in Africa, adding that “a vaccine will be a key component in defeating malaria”.
African countries where the trial sites for the malaria vaccine are located include Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Gabon, Burkina Faso and Mozambique.
The international agencies supporting the vaccine development are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK).
In a related development, a communiqué issued by AMMREN to mark World Malaria Day called on heads of state and government in Africa to implement well-coordinated, integrated country-wide programmes to drastically reduce the rate of malarial infections in Africa.