Malawi to benefit from18m malaria vaccine doses

Malawi is among 12 African countries set to benefit from 18 million doses of the first-ever malaria vaccine doses in pilot areas between 2023 and 2025.

In a statement on Wednesday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said the roll out is a critical step forward in the fight against one of the leading causes of death in the continent.

The doses will be provided with support and coordination of the Global Alliance on Vaccines (Gavi), World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef.

Reads the statement: “The allocations have been determined through the application of the principles outlined in the framework for allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply that prioritises those doses to areas of highest need, where the risk of malaria illness and death among children are the highest.”

Besides Malawi, other beneficiary countries include Ghana, Kenya, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

These countries are expected to introduce the malaria vaccines into their routine immunisation programmes.

According to the statement, the first doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in the last quarter of 2023 and the countries are expected to roll them out in  early 2024.

Gavi managing director of country programmes delivery Thabani Maphosa is quoted in the statement as having said the malaria vaccine has potential to be very impactful in the fight against malaria.

“[And] when broadly deployed alongside other interventions, it can prevent tens of thousands of future deaths.

“While we work with manufacturers to help ramp up supply, we need to make sure the doses that we do have are used as effectively as possible, which means applying all the learnings from our pilot programmes as we broaden out to a new total of 12 countries,” he is quoted in the statement.

Unicef associate director of immunisation Ephrem Lemango is also quoted in the statement as having said the malaria vaccines will go a long way in preventing malaria deaths.

“For a long time, these deaths have been preventable and treatable; but the roll out of this vaccine will give children, especially in Africa, an even better chance at surviving,” he said.

Lemango further said that as supply increases, there will be hope that more children will benefit from such a life-saving advancement.

WHO director of immunisation for vaccines and biologicals Dr Kate O’Brien says in the statement that the malaria vaccine is a breakthrough to improving child health and child survival.

She states that the first allocation of the malaria vaccine doses is prioritised for children at the highest risk of dying of malaria.

“The high demand for the vaccines and the strong reach of childhood immunisation will increase equity in access to malaria prevention and save many young lives.

“We will work tirelessly to increase supply until all children at risk have access,” says O’Brien.

The annual global demand for malaria vaccines is estimated at between 40 and 60 million doses by 2026 alone, growing to between 80 and 100 million doses each year by 2030.

Malaria is one of Africa’s deadliest diseases killing nearly half a million under-five children annually as accounting for approximately 95 percent of global malaria cases and 96 percent of deaths in 2021.