Malaria on the rise in kenya

Scientists are racing to stop the world’s deadliest epidemic

Mosquitos have killed half the humans who have ever lived. Now, after decades of progress against malaria, the disease is rising once again. Can a new vaccine in Kenya stop it—before it’s too late?

Mosquitos—which transmit the malaria parasite—have killed an estimated 52 billion people: half of all humans who have ever lived. Malaria originated in Africa, and now in Africa it’s once again on the rise, despite billions of dollars spent over the past century to stop it.

Last year, Kenya saw 11 million cases of malaria—up from 8 million the year before. But now, Kenya is one of three countries in the world where a new malaria vaccine—30 years in the making—is being administered for the first time.

This story was supported by the EJC - European Journalism Center

Published with National Geographic

Text: Jacob Kushner

A woman walks her son to school in Kakamega town. Kakamega county is one of the regions in Kenya with the highest Malaria infections of up to 20 percent. Besides Kakamega, the childhood immunization programme which was launched in September 2019, is taking part in 7 other counties: Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori and Siaya. Kenya is one of three countries in Africa where in partnership with the WHO the Malaria vaccine RTS,S, is implemented as part of a pilot project.

Ten-month-old Prince Jackson sleeps under a mosquito net at his home in Kakamega County, Kenya. He’s received two of the four doses of malaria vaccine so far.

Women wait at Iguhu District Hospital in western Kenya so that their babies can receive the malaria vaccine. In Africa, about 285,000 children died before their fifth birthdays in 2016.

A child gets the Malaria vaccine at Malava Sub County Hospital, Kakamega County, Kenya. The Malaria vaccine is offered to all children free of charge of up to 2 years. The children are given 4 doses at the age of 6, 7, 9 and 24 months.

As part of the country’s routine childhood immunization programme, the Malaria vaccine is offered free of charge in health facilities as here at Iguhu hospital in Kakamega county. Pregnant women are also handed out insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

Vincent Olang’ and Violet Wachiya fetch water from a small river near their house. They’ve tried to drain the stagnant water to discourage mosquitos from breeding there, but with little success.

Two girls cut grass in a watery field in Kakamega County, Kenya. Malaria is spread by female Anopheles mosquitos, which breed in stagnant water and proliferate during the rainy season.

Two girls stand in front of a house in Kakamega County, Kenya. Children are at a higher risk of succumbing to malaria because they have less immunity.

Eight-month-old Sammy Nalianya is one of hundreds of thousands of Kenyan children receiving the new malaria vaccine.

Eight-year-old Trizah Makungu sits on the bed she shares with her parents, protected by a mosquito net. These nets, which cost about $5 on the local market, have helped save millions of lives.

A research assistant offers his hand to a group of female mosquitos during a fresh blood-feeding at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, where scientists are studying insecticide-resistant mosquitos.

Private clinics like Cheldeb Medical Center in Kakamega, Kenya account for the majority of anti-malaria treatment in the country, though they are more likely than public hospitals to run out of tests.