Malaria Vaccine Project – 90 Second Statement

Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending the fifth anniversary of the malaria vaccine project at the Institute for Glycomics at my own alma mater, Griffith University, Gold Coast, in Moncrieff. Present among many from the community were General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove, who have supported this project since the beginning. For that, we are truly grateful.

This vaccine, once trials conclude and it’s approved, has the potential to profoundly reduce the number of preventable deaths around the world. The freeze-dried vaccine can be easily deployed into malaria-endemic countries, where, according to the World Health Organization, in 2020, there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627,000 deaths worldwide.

The malaria vaccine project is a joint fundraising partnership between Rotary District 9640 and Griffith University. It’s raised $1.34 million from Australian Rotary clubs, the federal government’s Medical Research Future Fund and generous community donors over the past five years.

Congratulations to Professor Michael Good, who was the first to trial the vaccine in his own body, and his team at the institute, lead researcher Dr Danielle Stanisic, Chancellor Smerdon and Vice-Chancellor Evans for their world-leading research and tireless efforts to save lives on a global scale. There’s still more money to raise and more trials to undertake, but my community is well on its way to making a big difference.