In some parts of Africa, the primary treatment for malaria, artemisinin, is becoming less effective against the parasite that causes the disease. Without immediate changes in health policy, a new analysis warns that millions more deaths could occur.
Last year, Malawi had nearly seven million malaria cases, accounting for nearly a third of the population, with 2,500 people lost their lives as a result of the mosquito-borne diseases. However, one village has become a model for malaria eradication, and was recognised in June as the first to have zero malaria cases for a whole year
Malaria vaccines produced in Burkina Faso aren’t the only ones being tested in the country to combat the mosquito-borne disease. Scientists in the West African country have been breeding genetically engineered mosquitos with the aim of reducing mosquito populations’ ability to transmit malaria
In an exclusive interview with VOA, the director of Oxford University’s Jenner Institute says their new malaria vaccine, tested in Burkina Faso, has shown a preliminary efficacy rate of 77%, which could help prevent over 400,000 deaths a year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa