By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
The ministry of health has urged parents and caregivers to vaccinate their children against malaria to protect them from the disease.
“I appeal to parents and caregivers to embrace the malaria vaccine. Please ensure that the children aged 6 moths receive the doses of malaria vaccine to ensure optimal protection,” the ministry urged.
The remarks were made by the minister of health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng during a media engagement on malaria vaccine routine immunization schedule at Uganda Media Centre, Kampala on Friday evening.
During the conference, Minister Aceng assured that the vaccines are safe, and effective for human use, urging timely vaccination to protect children from vaccine preventable diseases.
Uganda will introduce the malaria vaccine next month, with the launch scheduled for April 2, at Booma Grounds in Apac district. Early this month, the ministry of health flagged off the distribution of 2.278 million doses, out of 3.5 million doses of malaria vaccines. At least 107 districts with high and moderate transmission across the country will benefit from this initiative.
It should be recalled that the World Health Organisation (WHO) approved RTS/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccines for children starting from 5 moths of age, after they proved safety and efficacy. The vaccines schedule consists of four doses; First dose administered at around 5 months, Second dose given one month after the first dose, Third dose administered one month after the second dose, and the Fourth provided between 12-18 months after the third dose to maintain protection.
However, WHO recommends a Fith dose in areas with highly seasonal malaria transmission or where the risk remains high beyond the third year of life.
In Uganda, malaria remains a public health challenge with the country ranked among the 11 nations contributing 70% of the global malaria burden. Last year (2024), Uganda recorded over 10.9 million malaria cases, resulting into 3,582 deaths.
The country ranks as the third-highest contributor of malaria cases globally and the seventh-highest in malaria-related death globally, according to the 2023, World Malaria Report.
According to the 2024 Health Management Information System (HMIS)report, everyday, at least 3,290 people get sick due to malaria and are unable to do their routine activities.
“With our entire population of approximately 45.9 million people at risk, malaria continues to exert a heavy toll on our healthy systemand economy,” Minister Dr. Aceng stated.
Data from the ministry of health shows that every day, 16 lives are lost due to malaria, with 10 of these being children under the five years old. Malaria accounts for 30-40% of outpatient consultations, 20% of hospital admissions and 10% of all hospital deaths. Pregnant women, young children, individuals with sickle cell disease among others are the most vulnerable groups to malaria infestation.
However, minister Aceng is optimistic that the malaria vaccine which is administered for free will help to prevent the disease which can be severe, reduce the risk of infection , lower chances of complications as well as contributing to the overall public health by reducing transmission.
