蜜芽传媒

Cameroon is beginning the first roll out of the Malaria vaccine, RTS,S.

It follows successful pilot campaigns in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi.

The programme will focus on infants in 42 districts worst affected by the mosquito-borne disease.

Cameroon currently records about six million malaria cases each year and 4,000 deaths -- most of them children under five.

Aur茅lia Nguyen is chief programme officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is helping Cameroon secure the shots. She told Newsday: 鈥淭his vaccination will save lives."

However, she warned: 鈥淏y no means should people think that we now have a silver bullet鈥�it鈥檚 an important tool, it鈥檚 an exciting tool but it鈥檚 one that needs to be used with other malaria preventative measures.鈥�

(Picture: Shows a child receiving a shot of RTS,S in Kenya on March 7, 2023 as part of a pilot programme coordinated by the World Health Organization. Credit: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP via Getty Images.)