CLOSE MONITORING OF JAB A GOOD THING, HOWEVER...

The prospects of a malaria vaccine with the highest percentage of protection being on the verge of global distribution is a major milestone in the health sector owing to the challenges faced over the years in trying to find a possible prevention to the deadly disease.

As the government through the Chief Medical Officer Aifello Sichalwe continues to closely monitor the development of the vaccine research in order to determine efficacy levels, it is imperative that the process does not take the bureaucratic approach that is known to be the mode of operation in public institutions.

When we talk of a possible malaria vaccine we are talking about the chance of saving lives of millions of men, women, and children globally. Just to show how profound the challenge is, in the year 2020 alone over 600,000 people died due to the mosquito-borne parasitic disease. Out of these deaths, a majority were recorded in Africa. As such, the fact that malaria is a dangerous disease is an understatement. It has claimed many lives that it is time we find a permanent solution to this dire situation.

The R21/Matrix-M developed by Britain’s Oxford University has rejuvenated hopes of finally finding a vaccine with close to perfect score on the efficacy scale. The 80 percent protection rate after getting a booster dose should spell good fortunes for medical research. Finally, it looks like we are getting closer to finding a prevention for malaria.

Billions of dollars have been spent over the years in trying to find a prevention to malaria. Africa has been on the receiving end of financial and medical aid as the world grapples with mitigating the impacts of malaria. Unfortunately, not much had been achieved in terms of finding a lasting solution. Citizens were at the mercy of donors from the developed nations in tackling malaria.

With the announcement of a vaccine, it means countries that have been hit hard by malaria can now dedicate their efforts in accessing the vaccine for prevention and lessen the expenditure on less-effective methods.

The National Institute of Medical Research (Nimr) is being cautiously optimistic about the latest results from Oxford. But even with the level of prudence that is being extended in the monitoring process of the new vaccine, it shouldn’t be lost on us that this process is done according to scientific requirements and not administrative guidelines which in our local setting tend to take a while to implement.

A turning point

What makes this new development a truly promising prospect in turning the tide for the better in our endeavours to tackle malaria, is the bitter truth that there is no standalone intervention that has proven to avert malaria in endemic regions when taken in isolation. This means that the various efforts that have presented different ways of tackling malaria should complement each other in order to increase chances of success.

Zanzibar has made significant steps in their fight against malaria that they are now exemplary in Africa and other developing countries. If the new vaccine is rolled out domestically it means Tanzania stands a very good chance of being among the prosperous countries worldwide in fighting the deadly malaria disease.