In a historic move, Cameroon has become the first country to start vaccinating children against malaria as part of its national immunization program.

This initiative began with the administration of the RTS,S or Mosquirix vaccine developed by GSK, marking a significant step in the fight against malaria - a disease that has long plagued Africa, particularly its young population.

RTS,S is the first antimalarial vaccine to be recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The vaccine will be provided free of charge to all infants up to the age of six months old.

The vaccine, which has been over 30 years in the making, was initially part of a pilot program in selected African countries. However, it is now set for a wider distribution across the continent.

The first recipients of the vaccine were a pair of twins, whose mother, Helene, expressed her commitment to ensuring her children receive all four doses of the vaccine and take other preventive measures like sleeping under a mosquito net.

This groundbreaking initiative is not limited to Cameroon, as other African countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, and Liberia are also finalizing their malaria vaccine rollouts, with support from WHO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and other partners.