Africa CDC welcomes first malaria treatment for babies as "major advance"

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) welcomed the approval of the first ever malaria treatment specifically formulated for infants. 

The news is "a major advance in closing a critical gap in care for Africa’s youngest and most vulnerable", Africa CDC said in a press release.

The new treatment, called Coartem Baby, is dedicated to newborns and infants weighing less than five kilogrammes. 

It was developed through a partnership between Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and the nonprofit Medicines for Malaria Venture. Swiss drug regulators approved the formulation in July. 

In the absence of a dedicated treatment, infants were until now treated with adjusted doses of medicines for older children, "raising the risk of overdose and toxicity", according to Africa CDC.

“The approval of the treatment is a major step forward in the fight against malaria. It ensures that even the smallest and most vulnerable infants now have access to safe and effective treatment", said Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya.

Africa CDC also praised the eight member states where the medicine was trialled. Those include Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The organisation said these countries’ "leadership underscores Africa’s growing role in driving health innovation.” 

The new treatment is expected to be introduced in the eight African trial countries within weeks. Africa CDC said it would continue working with the member states involved, to ensure that every child gets access to the treatment. 

Malaria caused 597,000 deaths globally in 2023, with almost all of them in Africa, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) most recent figures. WHO said children under 5 accounted for about 76% of all malaria deaths in Africa.