Pharmaceutical company Novartis has approved a malaria treatment for infants.

Some African countries are expected to receive the rollout of treatments later this year.

This information was included in a press release by Novartis on Tuesday, July 8.

According to the release, eight African countries, including Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. collaborated on the clinical trials for the newly approved medicine.

“Together with our partners, we are proud to have gone further to develop the first clinically proven malaria treatment for newborns and young babies, ensuring even the smallest and most vulnerable can finally receive the care they deserve,” parts of the release read.

Per reports, infants weighing less than 4.5 kilograms have long had no approved malaria treatment.

Previously, infants received malaria treatments formulated for older children, which increased the risk of adverse effects.

The new medication is specially dosed to meet the needs of the smallest patients.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2023, 83 countries recorded 597,000 malaria-related deaths.

Africa is home to 94% of global malaria cases, killing children under 5 years old.

Meanwhile, the United Nations children's organization, UNICEF, has rolled out the R21/Matrix-M vaccine in Mali to commerorate World Malaria Day.

This makes Mali the 20th country to roll out the vaccine since its launch.