West African Nation Leads
Fight Against Malaria
Equatorial
Guinea’s Ministry of Health and Social Security recently presented a design for a
malaria vaccine trial as part of the government’s efforts to improve the
country’s public health.
The West African
Nation is the second country in Africa, after Tanzania, to sponsor a malaria
vaccine clinical trial. Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Health and Social Security and the Ministry
of Mines, Industry and Energy
partnered with Sanaria,
a U.S. biotechnology company that produces a vaccine based on an approach to
immunization that has already proven highly protective in humans, and the Ifakara
Health Institute (IHI),
Tanzania’s health research organization. This first clinical trial will evaluate
both the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
During the
clinical trial’s presentation, Minister of Health and Social Security, Diosdado
Vicente Nsue Milang, expressed the government’s support and appreciation of the
parties involved.
“Malaria is a
global concern,” he said, “and although the situation has improved in many
countries, it is still the most common cause of mortality in pregnant women and
children under five years.”
Dr. Pither, Sanaria representative, and Salim Abdulla,
Ifakara representative, explained how the malaria vaccine works and how it is
developed. The trial admission is scheduled for the first quarter of 2014. Sanaria
and the IHI expect that the clinical trials in Equatorial Guinea will show that
the vaccine is safe and effective, and that it can provide protection to
African populations where the disease is endemic.
The ultimate
goal is to develop a vaccine that can be part of large campaigns aimed at
eliminating the disease. The clinical trials in Equatorial Guinea could help
achieve this goal and significantly advance the global fight against malaria.
Equatorial Guinea’s Ethics Review Committee is overseeing
the protocol to ensure that the clinical trial follows Equatorial Guinea’s
standards. After these reviews and the approval of the protocol, the committee
members will participate in the African Forum on the Regulation of Vaccines to
present the results to the other sixteen countries represented in this forum,
which will review the protocol with Equatorial Guinea on October 15, 2014.
Equatorial
Guinea’s Ministries of Health and Social Welfare, and Mines, Industry and
Energy are sponsoring this clinical trial, along with Marathon Oil, Noble
Energy, EGLNG and AMPCO.
The director of
the National Program for the Fight Against Malaria, Matilde Roca, and representatives of various international organizations
such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Cuban Office of International
Cooperation, and Marathon Oil,
among others.
The government's
national malaria program includes free treatment for patients who test positive
for malaria infection, with special attention paid to pregnant women, who face higher risk.
President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has confirmed his support for shared responsibility and global
solidarity in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria at the session on Sustainable Solutions
for the AIDS Response in Africa during the 67th
United Nations General Assembly
in 2012.
“I can assure
you that my country, Equatorial Guinea, is steadfast in its support for the
statement made by the Heads of State and Government of the 29th
African Union Ordinary Assembly Session in Addis Ababa in July 2012 in favor of
a roadmap for shared responsibility and global solidarity in the fight against
AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,” he said.
Roll Back
Malaria has reported
that Equatorial Guinea has decreased the prevalence of the malaria parasite in
children by 57% in the last few years and has increased the number of bed nets
and indoor spraying of insecticides from 4% to 95% of the country in that same
period. Research carried out on the Island of Bioko by the government and
Marathon Oil has shown reduced infant mortality in nearly one-third of the
population.
Another Roll
Back Malaria report on Business Investing in Malaria Control:
Economic Returns and a Healthy Workforce for Africa has shown how malaria control investment has significantly
improved in Africa. “Companies in Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Mozambique, and
Zambia have worked to prevent malaria among their workers and workers' dependents
and have seen an excellent return on investment, with significant reductions in
malaria-related illnesses and deaths, worker absenteeism, and malaria related
spending,” the report said.
