This archive report was first published on 13 August 2019.
Published on August 13, 2019, by NASIBO KABALE
Kenya has postponed a large-scale pilot test for a malaria vaccine that could reduce the burden of the disease.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had chosen Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya to vaccinate 360,000 children per year, with Kenya yet to start the rollout despite the two nations beginning in April.
According to Dr Collins Tabu, head of the National Vaccines and Immunisation Programme, the introduction in Kenya, planned for August 15, was postponed due to the upcoming Health Summit scheduled on August 14 and 15.
‘I regret to inform you that the stakeholders breakfast meeting planned for August 13 and the launch planned for August 15 have been postponed to a later date to be communicated to you shortly. This is due to the upcoming Health Summit scheduled on August 14 and 15,’ Dr Tabu said.
The vaccine, known as Mosquirix, is the first to show promise in reducing mortality and morbidity of malaria and will complement existing interventions.
However, inadequate funding has been flagged as one of the biggest threats in eliminating malaria in Kenya, with the government allocating only Sh100 million towards the campaign in 2017, compared to Sh6 billion from the Global Fund and Sh3.5 billion from USAID.
Research conducted by Roll Back Malaria initiative revealed that Kenya will need about $427,860,536 (Sh42.8 billion) between 2018 and 2020 to fight the disease, yet the money is not readily available.
