The World Health Organization has approved the first malaria treatment made specially for newborn babies and infants.
The medicine is called Artemether-lumefantrine. It is the first malaria drug designed especially for very young babies who suffer from the mosquito-borne disease.
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WHO said the approval shows that the medicine meets international standards for quality, safety, and effectiveness.
Before now, babies were treated with malaria medicines made for older children. This created a higher risk of wrong dosage, side effects, and toxicity.
The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said malaria has caused pain for many families for centuries by taking the lives of children and affecting communities.
He said things are now improving because of new vaccines, better testing, stronger mosquito nets, and effective medicines made for young children.
He added that ending malaria is now possible, but governments and partners must continue to provide strong political and financial support.
According to WHO, there were about 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 deaths in 80 countries in 2024.
Africa carries 95 percent of these cases and deaths, while children under five account for about 75 percent of malaria deaths.
WHO also said progress against malaria is being slowed down by drug resistance, insecticide resistance, poor diagnosis, and reduced foreign aid funding.
The new approval will help governments and public health agencies buy the medicine more easily and close the treatment gap for about 30 million babies born every year in malaria-prone areas of Africa.
WHO explained that many countries do not have strong systems to properly regulate medicines, vaccines, and medical devices, so its approval programme helps ensure that important health products meet global standards.