The first malaria treatment for early childhood has been approved: it's revolutionary.

Infants and children under 5 years of age are a significant proportion of those affected by malaria worldwide. Until now, they have not had adequate medication or treatment for their weight and age, leading to many deaths, especially in Africa.

Malaria infection figures are alarming. The World Health Organization estimates that in 2023 there were 263 million cases of malaria and 597,000 deaths from the disease worldwide. Colombia is no stranger to these types of cases. In November 2024, according to the National Institute of Health, data showed an 81% increase in malaria cases in the country compared to that same year.

This week, the pharmaceutical company Novartis announced the launch of a drug targeted at this population to combat malaria. According to the Spanish media outlet 20 Minutos, the drug will be called Coartem Baby or Riamet Baby in some countries and has been developed in collaboration with the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a non-profit organization supported by the British, Swiss, and Dutch governments, the World Bank, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The drug has already been approved in Switzerland and is expected to be distributed in regions and countries with the highest malaria rates in the coming weeks.

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told the newspaper 20 Minutos that it is "an important moment, as it guarantees that even the smallest and most vulnerable will receive the care they deserve." The pharmaceutical company plans to distribute the drug free of charge.

Malaria is a disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is often confused with yellow fever and dengue fever because it is transmitted by vectors that are intermediate hosts of the disease, that is, they are found in animals that carry the disease but are not affected by it.

“Vectors are the connection between the initial host or animal that carries the disease and humans. Vectors are generally mosquitoes. These insects are responsible for carrying the disease from one place to another. Therefore, one of the reasons why the disease is so confused is because it is transmitted through these vectors,” says Dr. Luis Felipe Reyes, a highly regarded professor of infectious diseases at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of La Sabana.

Regarding the new drug , MMV CEO Martin Fitchet, quoted by 20 Minutos, stressed that "malaria is one of the most lethal diseases, particularly among children. But with the right resources and approach, it is possible to eliminate it; the approval of Coartem Baby provides a much-needed medicine at an optimized dose to treat a traditionally underserved group of patients, and offers a valuable addition to the toolkit available against malaria ."