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Filipino scientist receives funding for work on malaria vaccine


A US-based Filipino scientist has just receivedfrom Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund for his work on a malaria vaccine.

Dr. Rhoel Dinglasan developed a malaria vaccine that could block transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria, which are two strains of the deadly disease.

The Japan-based GHIT is funding two malaria eradication tools. A total of US$419,285 will be allocated to Dinglasan’s work, while an additional $964,500 will go towards a rapid field test that can reveal a malaria infection within just minutes.

GHIT Fund Executive Director and CEO Dr. BT Slingsby, in a press statement, said that these initiatives are crucial to stamping out malaria.

“We will not be able to eradicate malaria if we can’t interrupt disease transmission,” he said.

He said the Dinglasan’s vaccine interrupts malaria’s transmission, and the rapid test allows identification and treatment of asymptomatic persons carrying the disease.

“Our new investments in malaria, TB and these neglected tropical diseases send a clear message that GHIT and Japan are committed to employing the most innovative and advanced R&D tools available to save lives and improve health in the developing world,” Dr. Slingsby said.

According to the GHIT press statement, the malaria research community is pushing for transmission-blocking vaccines to be ready for deployment by 2030. — Kiersnerr Gerwin Tacadena/TJD, GMA News

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