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More than 58,000 children, below five years, in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions are expected to be vaccinated against malaria every year.

Dr Mrs. Paulina Appiah, the Deputy Director of Public Health at the Regional Directorate of Health, said, by this, more than 69,000 malaria cases among children in that age group would be averted.

Speaking at the launch in Sunyani of the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Trial to be conducted in the three regions, Dr Appiah said malaria contributed about 70 percent of all deaths among children under five and appealed to mothers to bring their babies for the vaccination trial.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has selected Bono East, Bono, Ahafo, Volta, Central and parts of the Upper East regions to pilot the malaria vaccine implementation trial.

On the theme: “Malaria Vaccine for Additional Protection,” the vaccination trial is being conducted in 14 districts and municipalities in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions.

According to the GHS, the (RTSS Vaccine) has gone through various trials for more than 32 years and it has been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).

Dr Appiah expressed regret that despite numerous malaria control and prevention interventions put in place by the GHS, Ghana was counted among the top 20 malaria burden countries around the globe.

She said malaria cases remained unstable in the three regions and though reported cases dropped from 32 percent in 2014 to 19.4 percent in 2017, it jumped to 20.3 percent in 2018.

Dr. Appiah said under the trial the beneficiary children would go through four doses - from six, seven, nine and 24 months - to make the vaccine efficacious, and advised parents and nursing mothers to ensure that their babies went through the doses.

She said vaccination remained an effective method of disease prevention and control and called on the media to help intensify public education on the programme to achieve the required benefits.

Aside the vaccine trial, she said the GHS would continue with the distribution of mosquito treated nets and indoor residual spraying exercise.