The first malaria treatment for babies and very young children of 2 months up to 5 years was approved for use by Swiss agency for therapeutic products, Swissmedic, in early July 2025. Until now, babies and very young children have been treated with medicines formulated for older children. The Conversation Africa asked Fortunate Mokoena, about…
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Kizito Zua, a farmer living in Arua, a city in northern Uganda, had earned his way selling his produce at the local market. In 2020, when lockdown rules were enforced in his area, he was no longer able to tend to his land. Left without a source of income, Kizito had…
CRISPR gene-editing therapy has already shown immense promise in treating and curing diseases, but scientists are now revealing its potential for disease prevention. A recent paper published in Nature details how a team of researchers successfully edited a single gene in mosquitos, rendering them unable to transmit malaria. This groundbreaking development could eventually lead to…
New York — In Gabú, Guinea-Bissau, a grandmother named N’beta hesitated. Her six-month-old grandson, Seco, was healthy, so why give him medicine? But community health workers Jamilia and Amadu gently explained that the medicine wasn’t for illness, but for protection. It was part of a seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaign designed to protect children during the…
After almost two decades of substantial reductions in the global burden of malaria, progress has stagnated. Global scientific and policy leaders agree that to achieve malaria eradication, interventions must focus not only on preventing malaria disease but also on decreasing malaria transmission. Children younger than 5 years and pregnant women are at the highest risk…
On World Malaria Day 2014, in Dakar, Senegal, parents, health workers, students, government officials, athletes, teachers, and community and national leaders stood up and said, “Zero Malaria Starts with Me.” Today, that commitment is alive across the African continent. They meant it. With every bed net hung, every child tested and treated, and every village…
Geneva — Suriname has officially been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), becoming the first country in the Amazon region to eliminate the disease. This certification marks the successful interruption of indigenous malaria transmission for at least three consecutive years – a major step forward in the global fight against one of humanity’s…
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, says the state is on the verge of making history, positioning itself to become the first West African geopolitical zone to eliminate malaria. This, Abayomi says, will not be through a vaccine or genetically modified mosquitoes but by employing “simple common sense” medical practices and a…
Kenya – A new initiative is using AI-powered drones to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding grounds in Ghana and Sierra Leone, in a bid to prevent malaria outbreaks. At dawn in Busia County, western Kenya, 10-year-old Angela Wanjiru lies motionless on a wooden bench in front of a rural dispensary. Her fever is high, and…
