World Malaria Day: Expert Reveal Impediments To Malaria Vaccine Development.
In spite of combined efforts by the World Health Organization, United States Agency for International Development, governments of various countries and other partners, malaria over the years has continued to pose a very serious health challenge, especially in the tropics.
Malaria is said to be responsible for approximately 1 to 3 million deaths internationally, per annum, with the overwhelming majority being children aged 5 years and below.
In Nigeria and most parts of Sub- Saharan Africa, the disease is endemic and said to be responsible for 80-90% of the deaths each year, being also the highest cause of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity.
Globally, Malaria has been noted as the world’s fourth leading cause of death in children less than 5 years.
In Ebonyi State in particular, malaria has been identified as a very serious public health problem accounting for over 60 percent hospital attendance.
Although the activities of the USAID - Breakthrough Action, Nigeria, focusing principally on achieving social behavior change has made great impact in reducing the incidence of malaria together with other partners’ interventions, most people still believe that development of a malaria vaccine is long overdue.
Most stakeholders who shared their thoughts concerning the issue insisted that developing a vaccine would bring to an end the huge economic and human losses emanating from the disease on a daily basis across the world.
However, the Ebonyi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Daniel Umezurike, while fielding questions from newsmen during a world Press Briefing in Abakaliki, the State capital, on Wednesday, in commemoration of this year’s World malaria Day, identified some key issues militating against malaria vaccine development to include the multifarious nature of the pathogen.
Umezurike, a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons, also noted that vaccines were easier to develop for viral than protozoan diseases which malaria belong to, adding that the parasite’s mobility in the body further makes it unpredictable.
Umezurike explained: "There are so many issues: one is that there are different types of Malaria, that is, the micro organism that causes it, of which the four major ones are Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax.
"So the issue is that when you develop one vaccine, it cannot handle these different types.
“People have tried different vaccines, but it didn't stand the test of time.
"But we hope that one day, all these issues would be sorted out, and the vaccine would be developed.
Also, let it be in the background of our mind that vaccines are easier to develop in some pathogens like viruses because what is used is life attenuated, that is, you partially destroy the virus, and when it gets into the body, it generates a kind of immune reaction.
"And that immune reaction acts as resistance in the person’s body because he has an antibody antigen.
“That agent you are given is like the antigen, and when the body notices that there is something in it, it develops antibody, that is like giving resistance; trying to kill it, and also, developing memory such that any other time such agent cones to the body, it also attacks it and destroys it.
"But it is not like protozoan diseases, which sometimes do not have ready vaccines.
"The other thing is that malaria in the body goes to different locations: at one time, it is in the blood, another time, in the Liver and several other parts of the body.
"That also makes it more difficult to attack it with a vaccine.”
The Commissioner revealed that the State Government has received 2.08 million Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets for distribution to households in the State for the year 2022, courtesy of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) for States.
He advised all households in the State to ensure that they get enumerated and registered to be eligible to receive the nets, adding that one of the best ways to tackle malaria was to prevent mosquito bites by sleeping inside insecticidal nets.
Speaking on the theme for the year: “Advance Equity, build Resilience, End Malaria” with the slogan: “Every Effort Counts”, the Director of Public health in the Ministry, Dr Hyacinth Ebenyi and the State Coordinator of PMI for States, Dr. Grace Nwankwo, emphasized that in the fight against malaria, all hands must be on deck as everyone was an important stakeholder.
The state Net Ambassador, Chukwuma Elom, who represented the wife of the Governor, Rachael Umahi, lamented that the impact of malaria is often felt most in rural communities, especially among women and children. He advised Ebonyi residents to always keep their environment clean to forestall breeding of mosquitoes.
Elom added: “The wife of the Governor appeals to all persons in the State to sleep inside insecticide treated nets, especially pregnant women and children.”
Meanwhile, in a goodwill message, the Acting State Coordinator, USAID-Breakthrough Action, Mrs Ifeoma Chris Okafor, appreciated the State Government for the enabling environment granted to partners to thrive.
She emphasized that USAID-BAN, in commemoration of the event, has intensified its community engagements and communication strategies towards social behavior change which was one of the major approaches to ending the malaria scourge.
World malaria day is observed on April 25, every year.
The weeklong activities for the year in Ebonyi State started on Sunday, April 24, with an interdenominational church service held in Abakaliki. It also featured Road walk/rally, community outreach programs, and malaria town hall meetings, among others.
It was organized by the State Ministry of Health in conjunction with the office of the wife of the Governor, supported by partners such as USAID-Breakthrough Action, Nigeria; USAID/Integrated Health program, PMI, AMURT, Roll Back malaria Initiative and Rotary International, among others.