WHO clears first malaria treatment for newborns
IV Report
KARACHI: Ahead of World Malaria Day, the World Health Organization (WHO)
prequalified the first malaria
treatment developed specifically for newborns and young infants, and approved three new diagnostic tests to
address emerging detection challenges.
The newly approved formulation of
artemether-lumefantrine is designed for babies weighing between two and five
kilograms — a group long treated with medicines intended for older children,
increasing the risk of dosing errors and side effects. WHO prequalification
confirms the drug meets global standards of quality, safety and efficacy,
enabling wider public-sector procurement and improving access for vulnerable
infants.
The move is expected to help close a
longstanding treatment gap affecting millions of babies born annually in
malaria-endemic regions, particularly in Africa, WHO said in a statement.
Separately, WHO on April 14
prequalified three rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to address growing concerns
over false-negative results. Conventional tests for Plasmodium falciparum
detect the HRP2 protein, but parasite strains lacking the gene for this protein
have emerged in multiple countries, rendering such tests ineffective. In parts
of the Horn of Africa, up to 80 per cent of infections have reportedly gone
undetected due to this issue.
Source: World Malaria Report 2025
The new RDTs instead target an
alternative parasite protein (pf-LDH), offering more reliable detection where
HRP2-based tests fail. WHO recommends switching to these alternatives when more
than 5 per cent of cases are missed due to such genetic deletions.
The announcements coincided with the 2026 global
campaign themed “Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must.”
According to WHO’s latest malaria
report, an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths were recorded in
2024, marking an increase from the previous year. While dozens of countries
have achieved malaria-free status or reported low case numbers, global progress
has slowed amid challenges such as drug and insecticide resistance, diagnostic
gaps and reduced international funding.
Photo courtesy: EMJ
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