Players in the health sector have commended the approval of the first-ever malaria drug for babies weighing less than five kilogramme as a breakthrough that will help deal with human errors of overdoses or underdoses.
The drug, called coartem baby, was developed by Novartis in collaboration with the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a Swiss-based not-for-profit organisation initially backed by the British, Swiss and Dutch governments, the World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Malawi is among eight African countries which participated in the assessment and drug owners say they expect these countries to issue quick approvals for the treatment.
In an interview yesterday, National Malaria Control Programme manager Dr Lumbani Munthali said in the absence of the actual drug for these young infants, there have been fears of overdosing.
He said: “All along, we have been using the conventional drugs used for all age groups and the challenge is that maybe we might have been giving these infants overdose because they usually need specific medication to suit their weight.
“We hope that this drug now will help deal with overdose, but also they will be getting the right treatment for their age, or weight and this will do more good than the drugs that we are using.”
For the drug to start being used in the country, Munthali said there is need for several processes, including negotiations with suppliers and donors as well as financial resources, among others.
On his part, Malawi Health Equity Network executive director George Jobe said the drug will add to several efforts in the country that include provision of malaria treatment to pregnant women and distribution of mosquito nets.
“As we stand, malaria is one of the major killers of especially babies. The new malaria drug for babies and young children is a good development in the health sector. It means that human errors of overdoses or underdoses would be taken care of,” he said.
International Coalition on Health Financing Advocacy chairperson Maziko Matemba said children will have more options for treatment since Malawi was also involved in research development of a malaria vaccine for the same age group.
He said: “The current child mortality in Malawi is 19/1000 which is high compared to the target of 12/1000. The efficacy of the drugs in our children will be high and we want to urge countries which participate to lead in the rolling out of the Malawi drugs in its medicines and vaccine list for use.”
Data shows that Malawi recorded 2 252 malaria deaths last year, translating to six deaths per day while the number of cases increased by 44 percent from 6.5 million in 2023 to 9.4 million in 2024.
Under the Malawi National Malaria Strategic Plan 2023-2030, the country aims at eliminating malaria as a public health concern by the year 2030.
