Ghana is getting ready to introduce a crucial malaria vaccine.

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A potentially game-changing malaria vaccine has been approved by health authorities in Ghana following a successful trial in Burkina Faso. The R21 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford proved 80 per cent effective when administered in three doses to 409 children aged between five months and 17 months, followed by a booster. Results from a larger trial of 4,800 children showed similar success, prompted officials at Ghana's Food and Drugs Authority to push ahead with vaccine approvals for children aged between five months and three years. Other African nations and the World Health Organisation are also considering the vaccine for approval. The malaria parasite, delivered by a bite from a female Anopheles mosquito, kills around 620,000 people a year, with young children under five most vulnerable. Batches of the R21 vaccine will be produced at the Serum Institute of India, where there is capacity to manufacture up to 200 million doses a year. GSK has committed to produce 15 million doses of Mosquirix a year until 2028.