Imagem MISAU
Maputo, 29 Apr (AIM) – The Mozambican health minister, Armindo Tiago, has announced that a malaria vaccine will be introduced into the country’s health service in June of this year.
According to the minister, who was speaking in Maputo last Thursday, in an even marking World Malaria Day, the vaccine in question was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) in October last year, after being developed in the UK.
“We hope that, if all goes well, in June this year we will be able to introduce the malaria vaccine in our country, which will start in the province of Zambézia [central Mozambique], with the intention of expanding to the other provinces in 2025. It’s a new tool that will be added to those that are already available”, the minister said.
According to Tiago, the poor access to prevention measures and poor sanitation are behind the increase in cases of malaria.
“The available data shows that in 2023, around 13.2 million cases of malaria were recorded in our country, compared to 12.4 million reported in 2022. This is seven per cent increase in the number of cases”, he said.
These figures, he said, are worrying, despite the downward trend in deaths over the last two years, since “in 2022, we registered 422 deaths and, in 2023, 356 deaths.”
The Minister also highlighted the poor use of mosquito nets as another factor contributing to the incidence of malaria in the country, especially in areas where the population is disadvantaged.
“The most disadvantaged population is disproportionately affected, as their homes offer less protection against mosquitoes, as well as having limited access to health services and information on prevention, diagnosis and timely treatment”, he said.
Health sector figures show that Mozambique is the country with the fourth highest number of malaria cases in the world. The vaccination, however, aims to eliminate the disease by 2030.
(AIM)
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