Deputy Minister of Health 2, Dr Jelikatu Mustapha, has made a passionate plea to parents to bring forward their kids to be vaccinated against malaria, assuring the new malaria vaccine will reduce the times a child gets sick with malaria and will reduce the severity of malaria and will also prevent death, especially among children.
Malaria is a sickness caused by a parasite transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Malaria can lead to death if not treated quickly.
According to Deputy Health Minister 2, malaria is the number 1 killer disease for under-five children and even for adults, adding that it is the number one reason why people are admitted to hospitals.
However, Dr Mustapha believes that “this vaccine will change the game.” She noted that the government, the Ministry of Health, and partners have done a lot to tackle malaria, such as providing insecticide bed nets, intermittent preventive therapy, residual spray, etc. She stated that all of these efforts have gone towards combatting malaria, but the vaccine, according to her, will complement these efforts.
The Deputy Minister assured that the vaccine is safe and effective, noting that it has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone. She added that three million vaccine doses have been in trials in three African countries: Ghana, Malawi, and Kenya.
In terms of side effects, Dr. Mustapha disclosed that no side effects have been reported. “Should there be any adverse effect, we have a system to track it and act quickly,” she assured.
Deputy Minister 2 further revealed that Sierra Leone had been granted two million vaccine doses but noted that the country had received the first five hundred and fifty thousand doses. “For this first batch of vaccine, we shall target the most vulnerable group (six-month-old children), but revealed that the remaining doses will eventually be made available to all vulnerable groups, including vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women and elderly women, and to the entire population,” she revealed.
The vaccines, according to the Deputy Health Minister 2 has already been distributed at health facilities. She also mentioned that health workers have already been trained to administer the vaccines.
Dr Mustapha revealed that the vaccines were acquired with support from GAVI, W.H.O and UNICEF after a successful application to their partners. “The vaccines were given free of charge and the targeted population will receive it free of charge,” she further revealed.
The Deputy Minister was speaking at a national-level stakeholder advocacy and commitment meeting regarding the rollout of the vaccine at the Bintumani Conference Center, Aberdeen, in Freetown, on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
The vaccine, according to the Deputy Minister of Health 2 will be distributed in fifteen districts, excluding Western Area Urban which she said has a low prevalence of malaria until when more vaccines arrived in the country. Children below two years are expected to take four doses of vaccine.
Children below two years are expected to take their first dose at age six months, seven months (2nd dose), eight months (3rd dose), and then their final dose at eighteen months.
‘We are grateful and lucky to be among the first countries in the world to roll out the malaria vaccine and include it in the country’s routine immunization program,’ she remarked.
Despite some engagement at chiefdom and district levels, the Program Manager of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), Dr. Kangbai, noted that more needs to be done in terms of awareness raising.
Paramount Chief Sovula assured that he would help to spread the message to his subjects. But he called on the attention of the authorities concerned to address sanitation issues. “It will be difficult to combat malaria without cleaning our environment,” PC Sovula recommends.
