Life-saving malaria vaccines reach children in 17 endemic countries in 2024

Fourteen of these countries introduced the vaccines for the first time in 2024, including Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Benin, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, South Sudan, Mozambique, Central African Republic, Niger, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Nigeria. The vaccine rollout and continued scale-up in Africa is a critical step forward in the fight against one of the continent's deadliest diseases.

A child dies from malaria nearly every minute. The vaccines are expected to save tens of thousands of these young lives every year as they are scaled-up across high-burden countries. Highest impact will be achieved when malaria vaccines are introduced as part of a mix of WHO-recommended malaria interventions that are tailored to the local context. 

Demand for the malaria vaccines continues to remain high, and the supply is sufficient. An additional 8 countries are forecasted to introduce the malaria vaccine into their childhood immunization programmes in 2025, and 13 have secured Gavi support to scale-up their national programmes to reach more children in the coming years.

The first malaria vaccine, RTS,S, was recommended by WHO in 2021 to prevent malaria in children after the success of the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. The MVIP was coordinated by WHO and supported by ministries of health and partners, including PATH, UNICEF and GSK and financed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Unitaid.

The vaccine introduction in these countries resulted in a 13% drop in child deaths from all causes, underscoring how much malaria contributes to child mortality in countries with moderate and high malaria burden. The vaccine has already reached over 3 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Two years later, WHO recommended the use of both RTS,S and R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccines for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in malaria endemic areas, prioritizing areas of moderate and high transmission. 

This photo story describes how WHO, Gavi, UNICEF and partners are supporting governments and health workers to introduce and scale-up malaria vaccines in Africa.

Experts in immunization, data and monitoring, demand generation and communication are deployed to provide targeted support tailored to countries' needs. This includes assistance with tools like dashboards to track readiness at national and district levels and monitor vaccine uptake.

_{On 24 May 2024, a shipment of the newest malaria vaccine, R21, is unloaded at the airport in Bangui, Central African Republic. Credit: UNICEF/UNI580310/Nzengue}

UNICEF ensures the timely and secure delivery of malaria vaccines by helping countries forecast required quantities, secure financing from Gavi and national budgets, and establish contracts with suppliers to guarantee uninterrupted production at sustainable costs. In the past year, more than 12 million malaria doses have been shipped to countries, which requires careful coordination with country authorities to ensure sufficient lead time for a smooth launch and to prevent stockouts during programme implementation. Countries prepare for arrival of supply by accurately estimating vaccine needs, ensuring regulatory approval through their national regulatory authority, and verifying that storage and transportation systems meet the necessary requirements.

^{Hawa Bayoh is a nurse in charge of immunization at the Waterloo Community Health Centre in Sierra Leone discusses malaria vaccines with a mother. Credit: WHO/Ipro Media}

One of the driving factors behind the success of any immunization programme is the dedication of health workers who help raise community awareness and create demand for the vaccines, as well as administer the vaccines and ensure families follow-up for subsequent doses. Because health workers see the toll malaria has on their communities each year, enthusiasm for the arrival of malaria vaccines has been high.

Hawa Bayoh, nurse in charge of immunization at the Waterloo Community Health Centre in the Western Rural Area district, Sierra Leone, recalls the arrival of the malaria vaccine in the country. "It was surprising because we never thought about it happening now or in years to come. We are very excited about the malaria vaccines and it will help us a lot, especially our children," she said.

In 2024, WHO with support from partners hosted a series of peer-learning workshops in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana and Malawi, bringing together representatives from over 20 ministries of health and their partners to support the successful introduction and rollout of malaria vaccines. These workshops provided a platform for countries to share best practices from pilot implementations and recent introductions and discuss technical and programmatic challenges.

Participants gained practical insights into topics like demand promotion and communications, defaulter tracking, readiness monitoring, and data management, complemented by a field visit to vaccination centres. By addressing information gaps and fostering collaboration, the workshops equipped countries with tools and strategies to drive effective malaria vaccine rollouts.

^{Benin introduced the malaria vaccine on World Malaria Day, 25 April 2024, and use the media and storytelling to raise awareness in the community. Credit: WHO/Benin}

In October 2024, the Democratic Republic of the Congo launched the malaria vaccine rollout in Kongo-Central province, aiming to protect over 170 000 children per year. This effort proceeded despite facing competing health priorities, including responding to the ongoing mpox outbreak. The country has the second highest burden of malaria globally.

The following month, Sudan became the first country in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region to introduce the malaria vaccine, a remarkable accomplishment in a country grappling with an ongoing conflict that has resulted in millions of children unprotected against preventable diseases such as cholera, measles, polio and malaria.

For highest impact countries are using a mix of other WHO-recommended malaria interventions alongside the vaccines that are tailored to the local context, including insecticide-treated nets, chemoprevention or indoor residual spraying. To encourage continued use of all interventions, countries are including consolidated messages about malaria control in their educational materials.

Demonstrating its commitment to child health and recognizing the transformative power of vaccination to reduce child mortality, Chad has taken a pioneering step by introducing the malaria vaccine alongside two other essential vaccines - those against pneumococcal disease and rotavirus.

Countries are offering the malaria vaccine, which requires four doses for best protection, as part of their childhood immunization programme. The additional visits from 5 months of age to receive the malaria vaccine are opportunities for children to catch up on other vaccines and benefit from additional health services, including administration of vitamin A, growth monitoring or distribution of insecticide-treated nets.

Strong partnerships and sustained funding fuel the fight against malaria, with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, serving as the principal funder for country efforts to roll out the malaria vaccine. Ensuring full funding for Gavi's next strategic period is critical to maintain equitable access and expand vaccine implementation. Between 2026 and 2030, Gavi aims to support countries to reach at least 50 million children with malaria vaccines.

Addressing malaria requires a multi-faceted approach, making continued support for prevention, diagnostics and treatment through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United States President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) and other partners equally vital to achieving maximum impact. Together, these efforts are laying the foundation for significant progress against malaria.