Malaria Treatment for Babies

Jul 8 2025 The BBC

First malaria treatment for babies approved for use

There have been malaria treatments for children, but there has been a “treatment gap”. The existing treatments were for older children and not specifically for babies. Babies have been treated with the same medicines, but their liver functions are still developing and their bodies process medicines differently. So, it may not be safe.

Novartis has now developed a treatment aimed specifically at babies, and that may prevent the death of thousands of children.

In 2023 - the year for which the most recent figures are available - malaria was linked to around 597,000 deaths.

Almost all of the deaths were in Africa, and around three quarters of them were children under five years old.