MALARIA VACCINE PROJECT LAUNCHED

13 May 2017

The Rotary Clubs of Southport, Broadbeach and Hope Island (District 9640) are supporting the fight against malaria.

Developed at the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University, PlasProtecT® is a novel malaria vaccine candidate that consists of whole malaria parasites grown in a laboratory under strictly controlled conditions. A pilot clinical study for healthy human volunteers has demonstrated that the vaccine is safe and able to induce an appropriate response in the immune system.

The next step: raising funds

Rotary is an organisation of business and professional leaders, and Probus is a community service activity of Rotary clubs. Rotary is also committed to furthering humanitarian causes. The Rotary Clubs of Southport, Broadbeach and Hope Island (District 9640) are now seeking funding to demonstrate that PlasProtecT® is safe and effective for a larger number of human volunteers and, more importantly, that the vaccine can protect people from malaria infection. This fundraising project, supported by District 9640 Governor Michael Irving and in partnership with Griffith University, has recently been registered by Rotary Australia Benevolent Society (RABS) and endorsed by the National Committee of Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM). At the time of going to print, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (retd), Governor-General of Australia, has confirmed he will officially launch the project on 27 March.

Would you like to help?

Every donation, no matter how small, helps. Donations can be made as a one-off, or fortnightly, monthly, annually or biannually. A tax-deductible receipt will be sent to you. 

For online donations visit: www.rawcs.com.au. For cheque donations address to: Development of a Malaria Vaccine, PO Box 84, Southport QLD, 4215. (For receipt purposes, include name, address and post code.)

Of course, the decision to donate is yours alone and has no bearing on your Probus membership.

TIME OF NEED

Approximately 3.2 billion people live in malaria endemic areas worldwide. In 2015, there were approximately 214 million cases of malaria and 438,000 deaths, mostly children under five. Vaccination is the key to shifting the fight against malaria from sustained control to eradication. Despite global efforts, there is no effective malaria vaccine available.