“Doctors Without Borders has administered the first full course of the R21 malaria vaccine in Ethiopia, vaccinating 2,100 children in a refugee camp. The organization reports that the camp hospital saw 50 percent fewer malaria deaths in the period after the campaign, which also included other malaria prevention methods,” reports The Doomslayer.
This malaria vaccination campaign was “the first ever completed in a refugee camp globally,” and “one of the earliest comprehensive rollouts on the African continent.” It occurred “In Kule refugee camp, in Gambella region, home to more than 55,000 South Sudanese refugees,” where “2,100 children under five received their fourth and final dose in November 2025.” “In 2024, malaria transmission in the camp reached the highest level in five years. In response, MSF introduced the R21 vaccine in August…after the first vaccination campaign, Kule hospital saw close to 50 percent fewer malaria-related deaths in 2025 compared to 2024.”
Malaria death rates fell even though overall conditions in the Kule refugee camp have deteriorated due to severe funding shortfalls and inadequate food supplies. Since October 2024, refugees there have received as little as 600 calories a day, less than 30% of the recommended daily minimum of 2,100 calories. This has led to high rates of severe malnutrition, particularly among children under five.
Millions of other people in Africa recently received a life-saving malaria vaccine.
In other good news, “There is a new malaria drug for the first time in 25 years: a combination therapy called GanLum, which cured more than 99 percent of cases in late-stage trials and could help counter rising resistance to older treatments like artemisinin,” notes The Doomslayer.
“Conservationists are releasing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in Hawaii to control the spread of avian malaria, which has devastated local bird populations,” reports The Doomslayer.
Last year, a treatment was discovered for sleeping sickness, a disease that kills 50,000 to 500,000 people per year.
