Every April, World Immunisation Week reminds us vaccines save lives.
In Malawi, that simple but powerful truth is written not only in policy papers, but also in health posts, outreach clinics and the selfless hands of community health workers carrying cold boxes to the last mile.
It is a story of progress, but also unfinished business.
Reasons to smile
Malawi has reasons to be proud. Coverage for key childhood vaccines has remained relatively stable in recent years, helping to protect children from vaccine preventable diseases despite economic pressures and repeated climate shocks.
The introduction of new vaccines, from human papillomavirus to the malaria vaccine, signals a health system that continues to adapt and innovate.
Central to these gains is the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, working in partnership with Unicef, World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners.
Unicef supports Malawi’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation through vaccine procurement, strengthening cold chain systems, community engagement and emergency response.
Investments in solar-powered refrigeration have ensured vaccines remain safe and potent even in remote, off-grid areas, reducing missed opportunities and improving reliability of services.
During the ongoing response to the polio outbreak, government, with support from Unicef and WHO, has implemented multiple rounds of supplementary immunisation campaigns using the novel oral polio vaccine.
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has embarked on a campaign to vaccinate every child aged 10 and below following the discovery of poliovirus type two in a seven-year-old unvaccinated child and two sewage sites in Blantyre.
These efforts have reached millions of children, including expanded age groups across the country, while reinforcing routine immunisation and disease surveillance systems.
Unfinished business
Yet the work is far from over. According to the 2025/26 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey, only about seven in ten children aged 12 to 23 months are fully immunised. This masks sharp inequities driven by poverty, education, and geography.
Children who have never received a single vaccine remain concentrated in hard-to-reach communities, often reflecting deeper challenges in access, service delivery, and demand for services.
At the same time, financing pressures threaten sustainability.
Malawi’s National Immunisation Strategy of 2025–2030 faces a significant funding gap, even as demand for vaccines and emergency preparedness continues to grow.
As the country works to sustain progress, there is an increasing need to strengthen domestic investment and ensure partner support is well aligned with national priorities.
What must change?
First, immunisation must be treated as a long-term investment to give every child a healthy start.
Immunisation is not an emergency expense. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to protect children and strengthen the broader health system.
Second, trust must remain at the centre of delivery, through consistent community engagement that goes beyond campaign cycles and confronts misinformation head on.
Third, data must work harder, with better use of local information to guide outreach, track missed children, and improve planning, so that every child is counted and reached.
Malawi joined the rest of the world in commemorating this year’s World Immunisation Week from April 24 to May 1.
The country can rightly celebrate how far it has come, but true success will be measured when no child’s survival depends on where they are born.
Vaccines work, and the task now is to ensure they reach every child, everywhere.
