{
  "id": 2305361,
  "title": "Africa: Five Years On From First Vaccine, Fight Against Malaria Sees Progress in Africa",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/africa-five-years-on-from-first-vaccine-fight-against-malaria-sees-2305361",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-21T04:51:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "AllAfrica",
    "slug": "allafrica",
    "url": "https://allafrica.com/stories/202608210007.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Five years after the introduction of the world's first malaria vaccine, progress is being made in Africa's fight against the disease. Malaria claims 95 per cent of its victims in Africa, where it is responsible for more than 1 million deaths annually. The RTS,S vaccine, first recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in October 2021, has begun to show results. Since then, it has been integrated into childhood vaccination programs across 25 African nations, with over 10 million children targeted annually. The WHO pre-qualified a new anti-malarial treatment specifically designed for newborns and young infants in April 2026, marking another significant milestone. A study published in The Lancel in May 2026 found that the RTS,S vaccine reduced mortality among young children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi by approximately one in eight deaths. Despite these advances, malaria remains a major public health concern in Africa. In 2024, the WHO recorded around 579,000 malaria-related deaths across the continent, with three-quarters of these deaths occurring in children under five. A new mosquito species, Anopheles stephensi, native to South Asia, has recently appeared in urban areas of Africa, posing a potential threat. Its ability to thrive in urban environments and urban water containers could expose an additional 120 million Africans to malaria, according to a model cited in scientific studies.",
  "summary": "[RFI] On World Mosquito Day, attention remains focused on the devastating impact of the disease in Africa. The continent accounts for 95 per cent of malaria-related deaths worldwide. Five years after the roll-out of the first malaria vaccine, it is beginning to deliver measurable results - although significant challenges remain.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}