Health and Me

Rachel V Thomas

WHO Prequalifies First-ever Malaria Treatment For Newborns, Infants

WHO Prequalifies First-ever Malaria Treatment For Newborns, Infants

In a significant step forward in the fight against <span><a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health/malaria">malaria</a></span>, the <span>World Health Organization</span> (WHO) has prequalified the first treatment for newborns and young infants weighing between two and five kilograms. 

The newly prequalified treatment—artemether-lumefantrine — is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest malaria patients. 

So far, infants with malaria have been treated with formulations intended for older children. This increased the risk of dosing errors, side effects, as well as toxicity.

"For centuries, malaria has stolen children from their parents, and health, wealth, and hope from communities," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. 

"But today, the story is changing. New vaccines, diagnostic tests, next-generation mosquito nets, and effective medicines, including those adapted for the youngest, are helping to turn the tide," he added.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans through the bites of some infected anopheles mosquitoes. However, they are preventable and curable.

While the initial symptoms may be mild, similar to many febrile illnesses, and difficult to recognize as malaria. Left untreated, malaria can progress to severe illness and death within 24 hours.

<h2>What Does WHO Prequalification mean? </h2>

The WHO defines prequalified medicine as that which meets international standards of quality, safety, and efficacy, and will help to expand access to quality-assured treatment for one of the most underserved patient groups.

WHO prequalification will enable public sector procurement, contributing to closing a long-standing treatment gap for some 30 million babies born each year in malaria-endemic areas of Africa.

Earlier this month, on April 14, the WHO also prequalified three new rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) designed to address emerging diagnostic challenges for malaria. 

The most common malaria RDTs for the P. falciparum parasite work by detecting the protein, known as HRP2. But some strains of the malaria parasite have lost the gene that makes this protein – so they become "invisible" to HRP2-based RDTs, leading to false-negative results. 

The new tests address this issue by targeting a different parasite protein (pf-LDH) that the malaria parasite cannot easily shed. They provide a reliable, quality-assured alternative where HRP2-based tests are failing. 

WHO now recommends that countries switch to these alternative RDTs when more than 5 per cent of cases are missed due to pf-hrp2 deletions. This ensures accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and protects hard-won malaria control gains – especially for the most vulnerable communities.

<h2><span rel="noindex">World <a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health/malaria">Malaria</a> Day 2026</span> </h2>

The theme this year is "Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must". It underlines that ending malaria is a real possibility with science advancing faster than ever, with new vaccines, treatments, malaria control tools, and pioneering technologies.

According to the World Malaria Report 2025, there were an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024 – an increase from 2023. While 47 countries have been certified malaria-free and 37 countries reported fewer than 1000 cases in 2024, progress at the global level is stalling. 

<strong>Read: </strong><a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health-news/world-malaria-day-2026-theme-history-and-significance-article-154163169" data-type="tilCustomLink">World Malaria Day 2026: Theme, History, And Significance</a>

Twenty-five countries are now rolling out malaria vaccines, protecting millions of children, and next-generation mosquito nets make up 84 per cent of all new nets distributed. These advances demonstrate what is possible when all partners work together to innovate and deliver on the promises towards ending malaria for all.

The most common malaria symptoms include: 

<ul><li>fever </li><li>chills </li><li>weakness </li><li>other flu-like symptoms</li></ul>Get help from a healthcare professional if you experience these symptoms.

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In a significant step forward in the fight against malaria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified the first treatment for newborns and young infants weighing between two and five kilograms. The newly prequalified treatment—artemether-lumefantrine — is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest malaria patients. So far, infants with malaria have been treated with formulations intended for older children. This increased the risk of dosing errors, side effects, as well as toxicity. "For centuries, malaria has stolen children from their parents, and health, wealth, and hope from communities," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "But today, the story is changing. New vaccines, diagnostic tests, next-generation mosquito nets, and effective medicines, including those adapted for the youngest, are helping to turn the tide," he added.Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans through the bites of some infected anopheles mosquitoes. However, they are preventable and curable.While the initial symptoms may be mild, similar to many febrile illnesses, and difficult to recognize as malaria. Left untreated, malaria can progress to severe illness and death within 24 hours.What Does WHO Prequalification mean?  The WHO defines prequalified medicine as that which meets international standards of quality, safety, and efficacy, and will help to expand access to quality-assured treatment for one of the most underserved patient groups. WHO prequalification will enable public sector procurement, contributing to closing a long-standing treatment gap for some 30 million babies born each year in malaria-endemic areas of Africa. Malaria: New Prequalified Tests Earlier this month, on April 14, the WHO also prequalified three new rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) designed to address emerging diagnostic challenges for malaria. The most common malaria RDTs for the P. falciparum parasite work by detecting the protein, known as HRP2. But some strains of the malaria parasite have lost the gene that makes this protein – so they become "invisible" to HRP2-based RDTs, leading to false-negative results. The new tests address this issue by targeting a different parasite protein (pf-LDH) that the malaria parasite cannot easily shed. They provide a reliable, quality-assured alternative where HRP2-based tests are failing. WHO now recommends that countries switch to these alternative RDTs when more than 5 per cent of cases are missed due to pf-hrp2 deletions. This ensures accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and protects hard-won malaria control gains – especially for the most vulnerable communities. World Malaria Day 2026 The theme this year is "Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must". It underlines that ending malaria is a real possibility with science advancing faster than ever, with new vaccines, treatments, malaria control tools, and pioneering technologies. According to the World Malaria Report 2025, there were an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024 – an increase from 2023. While 47 countries have been certified malaria-free and 37 countries reported fewer than 1000 cases in 2024, progress at the global level is stalling.  Read: World Malaria Day 2026: Theme, History, And SignificanceTwenty-five countries are now rolling out malaria vaccines, protecting millions of children, and next-generation mosquito nets make up 84 per cent of all new nets distributed. These advances demonstrate what is possible when all partners work together to innovate and deliver on the promises towards ending malaria for all.The most common malaria symptoms include: fever chills weakness other flu-like symptomsGet help from a healthcare professional if you experience these symptoms.