Nearly 10,000 children vaccinated as malaria vaccine rollout in Africa expands

Nearly 10,000 children in Burkina Faso and Cameroon have now received the RTS,S malaria vaccine since it was introduced this year.

A wider malaria vaccine rollout is underway this year in several African countries, with Cameroon being the first outside the malaria vaccine pilot programme to do so.

Cameroon launched the vaccine on January 22, 2024. It is being integrated into its national routine immunization programme in more than 500 public and private health facilities across 42 health districts in the country’s 10 regions.

Burkina Faso introduced the vaccine on February 5, becoming the latest country in the region to kick off the immunization. The game-changing vaccine complements the existing range of malaria control measures to prevent the disease and lower its burden.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said in a statement, “Malaria is one of the major health challenges our region faces. The wider rollout of the malaria vaccine marks a significant milestone in advancing the fight against this deadly disease. We’re committed to supporting countries to ensure that all eligible children are protected from the devastating impacts of this preventable illness.”

The vaccine rollout in the two countries marks the start of a major initiative by the WHO Regional Office for Africa’s Accelerated Malaria Vaccines Introduction and Rollout in Africa (AMVIRA).

AMVIRA was developed as a response to the planned introduction of the two malaria vaccines (RTS,S and R21) into the routine immunisation schedules of 19 countries in the Africa region in 2024.

Through AMVIRA, WHO in Africa will strengthen the provision of state-of-the-art support to countries in their efforts to effectively and efficiently introduce and roll out malaria vaccines. The initiative also enhances coordination with partners, including UNICEF, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and other partners.

Malaria burden is the highest on the African continent, which accounted for approximately 94 percent of global malaria cases and 95 percent of related deaths in 2022. There were 249 million malaria cases globally in 2022, leading to 608,000 deaths. Of these deaths, 77 percent were children under five years of age, mostly in Africa.