The first malaria treatment for babies has been approved for use.
This is the first time a malaria treatment is suitable for babies and very young children.
It is expected to be available in African countries in just a few weeks.
Before this, there were no approved malaria drugs specifically for babies.
They were treated with medications made for older kids, which could lead to overdoses.
In 2023, the latest year for which we have data, malaria caused about 597,000 deaths.
Most of these deaths happened in Africa, and around 75% were children under five years old.
There are malaria treatments for kids, but until now, there was nothing made just for the tiniest babies and small children who weigh less than 4.5kg or about 10lb.
They had to use drugs meant for older kids.
This is risky because the doses for older children might not be safe for babies, whose livers are still growing and process medicine differently.
Experts say this has created a
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