Sourou: More than 6,000 children aged 5 months and over will be vaccinated against malaria. The chief medical officer of the Tougan district, Jerome Nikiema, met on Monday with all social classes in the Sourou province to advocate for full adherence to the new malaria vaccine which will affect more than 6,000 children aged 5 months and over.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the District Chief Medical Officer (MCD) of the Tougan Health District organized an advocacy workshop on Monday, September 1, 2025, in the conference room of the district, for the scaling up of the malaria vaccine. More than 6,000 children aged 5 months and over will be immunized against malaria. The plea was chaired by the High Commissioner of the province, Desire Badolo, in the presence of customary and religious leaders, provincial directors, local media, bloggers, influencers, departmental prefects, and other social classes of the Sourou province.
The objective of the workshop, as stated by Jerome Nikiema, the district chief medical officer, is to enable the population to better understand the new vaccine against malaria so that they can fully adhere to vaccination. “Since August 14, we have officially introduced the malaria vaccine in our district. This vaccine is available in all health facilities. It was important for us to request the support of all stakeholders so that together, hand in hand, this vaccine introduction is a success,” he said.
Mr. Nikiema indicated that, at present, the vaccination concerns children born in 2025 who are at least five months old, with 6,081 children expected in Sourou for this age group. The vaccine will be administered in four stages, with one month between the first and second doses, one month between the second and third doses, and eight months between the third and fourth doses.
Kalidou Cisse, the coordinator of the Adiara Youth Association of Tougan (AAJT), also a participant in the workshop, expressed readiness to raise awareness among those around him for full support of the new malaria vaccine. “This workshop was very beneficial for us. We will in turn raise awareness among the population so that together we can eradicate malaria from our regions,” said Mr. Cisse.
High Commissioner Desire Badolo invited the participants to raise awareness among the population so that the instructions given by health workers are respected for an effective fight against malaria in the province and throughout Burkina Faso. It should be noted that this new malaria vaccine does not replace other anti-malaria vaccines and measures but rather reinforces them.