One of Africa’s best known evangelical preachers, Nigeria’s Chris Oyakhilome, is spreading the message, through sermons on his church’s YouTube channel, that malaria vaccines are ineffective and “there is no proof they have ever worked”.
Everyone had been “lied to” about vaccination, he said in a February broadcast.
The BBC reports that it has reviewed dozens of 2023-24 sermons by the 61-year-old “Pastor Chris”, in which he was disseminating anti-vaccine messages to his followers, specifically targeting the new malaria vaccine being distributed on the continent.
About 95% of global malaria-related deaths occurred on the continent in 2022, with children under five accounting for around 80% of the deaths, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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