The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a breakthrough in the fight against malaria, prequalifying the first treatment tailored for newborns and small infants as World Malaria Day is marked globally on April 25.

The agency said in a Friday statement that the medicine targeted babies weighing two to five kilograms, a group long underserved by existing formulations designed for older children currently used worldwide.

According to WHO, prequalification confirms the treatment meets international standards for quality, safety, and efficacy, enabling wider access to reliable care for one of the most vulnerable patient populations globally.

“The drug, artemether lumefantrine, is the first antimalarial formulation specifically designed for the youngest patients, replacing use of medicines intended for older children that risk dosing errors and toxicity in infants.”

WHO said the approval would support public sector procurement and help close a longstanding treatment gap affecting roughly 30 million babies born each year in malaria-endemic regions across Africa.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said malaria had long devastated families and communities but new vaccines, diagnostics, improved nets and medicines tailored for infants were helping turn the tide globally.

He said ending malaria was increasingly achievable but required sustained political will and financing, urging countries and partners to act decisively with the World Malaria Day theme, Driven to End Malaria.

“On April 14, WHO also prequalified three rapid diagnostic tests addressing strains lacking the HRP2 protein, which can evade common tests and produce false-negative results in affected settings worldwide.

“In parts of the Horn of Africa, up to 80 per cent of cases were missed, delaying treatment and increasing risks of severe illness and death among vulnerable populations.

“The new tests detect an alternative parasite protein, pf LDH, offering reliable diagnosis where HRP2-based tests fail, and WHO advises switching when more than five per cent of cases are missed.”

Mr Ghebreyesus said, according to the World Malaria Report 2025, there were an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024, showing increases, even as several countries achieved malaria-free certification recently overall.

In spite of progress, WHO warned gains were threatened by drug and insecticide resistance, diagnostic challenges and funding shortfalls, although billions of infections had been prevented and millions of lives saved since 2000. 

(NAN)