Research Impact

Researchers from KUHeS and UNC Project worked on the Malaria Vaccine programme and it was very successful. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the widespread use of the first ever malaria vaccine RTS, S/AS01 (RTSS) among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions. The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Malawi, Kenya and Ghana that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019. The work in Malawi was done by experts from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), namely Prof. Mathanga who was the lead Principal investigator, Prof. Victor Mwapasa, Prof. Ken Maleta and Dr. Atupele Kapito Tembo in collaboration with UNC project expert Dr. Tisungane Mvalo. 

Recommendations made following a research conducted by a consortium led by KUHeS based researcher Prof. Kamija Phiri were adopted by the World Health Orgaanisation. This research program is a collation of several interlinked clinical trials and observational studies on the prevention of death and disease in children who have had severe anaemia after they have been discharged from the hospital. Earlier research work in Malawi demonstrated that children with severe anaemia are at a high risk of dying or becoming severely ill during the post-discharge period. The first large trial proving this concept was done in Malawi and later confirmed in another trial in Kenya and Uganda. Evidence from all these studies confirmed that this health intervention, called Post-discharge Malaria Chemoprevention (PDMC), prevents death by up to 90% and severe disease and reduces hospital readmissions by up to 70%.