WHO says malaria causes 180,000 more deaths than previously thought

The World Health Organization has called for a “massive” effort to get the new malaria vaccine into the arms of children across Africa, as it warned that an estimated 180,000 more people were dying of the disease annually than had been previously thought.

Dr Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO’s global malaria programme, said: “Is the world going to allow that there is a first malaria vaccine that can save the lives of tens of thousands of African children every year and they’re going to let it sit on a shelf?”

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