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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 28769, member: 2262"] Uganda plans to give children four doses of the malaria vaccine as part of its fight against the disease. The country just received 2.278 million vaccine doses worth $8.88 million from Gavi through UNICEF on March 7. Health officials say this vaccine will help reduce severe cases and deaths among young kids, adding another weapon to their battle against malaria alongside mosquito nets, spraying, quick treatment, seasonal prevention, and killing mosquito larvae. Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng explained the vaccine works alongside other tools rather than replacing them. Children will receive their first shot at six months old, with follow-up doses at seven, eight, and eighteen months. Malaria remains a top killer in Uganda, especially for kids under five and pregnant women. The country ranks third worldwide for malaria cases and eighth for deaths from the disease. Every day in Uganda, 16 people die from malaria - ten of them children under five years old. Dr. Aceng called this situation unacceptable and promised action. The new R21 vaccine represents a major step forward based on scientific evidence showing it cuts down severe illness and death rates. Daily, almost 33,000 Ugandans become sick with malaria, keeping them from normal activities and costing at least 15,000 shillings per episode for medicine and travel expenses. Malaria hits Ugandan children hard, with 6,500 falling ill daily and 10 dying each day. Health officials believe vaccination could prevent over 800 complicated malaria cases among children every day. Uganda carries 4.8% of all global malaria cases, according to the World Malaria Report 2024, with 12.6 million cases during 2023 alone. That means nearly 29% of all Ugandans suffered from malaria last year. The disease strains the health system badly, causing 30% of all illnesses nationwide and creating an ongoing crisis needing urgent solutions. [/QUOTE]

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