Ivory Coast receives first life-saving malaria vaccines
Ivory Coast receives first life-saving malaria vaccines/node/2540411/world
Ivory Coast receives first life-saving malaria vaccines
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In 2022, malaria caused more than 600,000 deaths worldwide, 95 percent of them in Africa, and 80 percent of them in children under the age of 5, according to the WHO. (Shutterstock)
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In this photo taken on March 7, 2023, a Kenyan woman demonstrates how to use a mosquito net to her granddaughter, who completed doses through the world’s first malaria vaccine (RTS, S) pilot program. The pilot program coordinated by the World Health Organization has provided malaria vaccines in three countries, Ghana, Malawi and Kenya, since 2019. The vaccine is now being introduced in Ivory Coast and other African countries. (AFP/File)
Ivory Coast receives first life-saving malaria vaccines
The mosquito-borne disease kills four people a day in the country, mostly small children, according to health officials
The R21/Matrix-M vaccine has been authorized by Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic
Updated 30 June 2024
AFP
ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast this week received its first vaccines against malaria, a disease that kills four people a day in the country, mostly small children, the government said Saturday.
A total of 656,600 doses have been received, which will “initially vaccinate 250,000 children aged between 0 and 23 months” in 16 regions, the government said.
Although the number of malaria-related deaths has fallen from 3,222 in 2017 to 1,316 in 2020 in Ivory Coast, the disease “remains the leading cause of medical consultations,” according to the Ministry of Health.
The R21/Matrix-M vaccine has been authorized by Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic.
The Ivorian government is also distributing mosquito nets and is spraying insecticide in endemic areas.
Malaria causes fever, headaches and chills, and can become serious or even fatal if left untreated.
In 2022, it caused more than 600,000 deaths worldwide, 95 percent of them in Africa, and 80 percent of them in children under the age of 5, according to the WHO.
The vaccine is the second malaria vaccine that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended for children and is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Chinese, Iranian warships in South Africa for exercises
China-led exercises near main navy base are also meant to involve Russia
Drills risk further straining South Africa’s ties with the United States
Updated 4 sec ago
AFP
SIMON’S TOWN, South Africa: Chinese and Iranian warships were docked off South Africa’s main navy base Thursday ahead of exercises that officials said were also meant to involve Russia. The January 9-16 “Will for Peace” drill hosted by South Africa risks further straining its ties with the United States, which is in dispute with many of the countries taking part. AFP journalists saw two Chinese ships in Cape Town’s False Bay harbor on Wednesday, joined by an Iranian vessel on Thursday. South African navy officials said warships from Russia were also expected to take part in the China-led exercises. The drill was focused on the “safety of shipping and maritime economic activities,” the South African defense force said in December when it announced the maneuvers. It was intended to “deepen cooperation in support of peaceful maritime security initiatives,” it said. The statement said the exercise would involve navies from BRICS countries. BRICS, originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, more recently, Indonesia. The joint drills — previously known as Exercise Mosi — were initially scheduled for November 2025 but were postponed due to a clash with the G20 summit in Johannesburg. South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA), a member of the ruling unity government, said parliament had not been “properly briefed” on the drills, including cost, command structure and diplomatic consequences. “South Africa’s defense and foreign policy must be transparent, constitutional, and principled and certainly not being quietly reshaped through military exercises that contradict our stated neutrality and damage our standing in the world,” DA spokesperson on defense, Chris Hattingh, said in a statement. The center-right party — which joined government after the African National Congress lost its majority in 2024 due to voter disillusionment with corruption and mismanagement — vowed to demand full transparency in parliament. President Donald Trump has accused countries in the BRICS group of emerging nations of “anti-American” policies. South Africa has drawn US criticism for its close ties with Russia and a range of other policies, including its decision to bring a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the Gaza war. South Africa’s military was criticized for hosting naval exercises with Russia and China in 2023 that coincided with the one-year anniversary of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. The three countries first conducted joint naval drills in 2019.
