Today, UNICEF shipped more than 43,000 doses of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine by air to Bangui, Central African Republic, with more than 120,000 more doses to be shipped in the coming days. The Central African Republic is the first country to receive the R21 anti-malaria vaccine for routine immunization of children, which represents another step forward in preventing the disease and saving children's lives.
The R21 vaccine is the second anti-malaria vaccine recommended by the organization to be given to children living in endemic areas. Combined with WHO's previous recommendation for the RTS,S vaccine, there is now sufficient vaccine supply to expand malaria vaccination in Africa. The GAVI Vaccine Alliance is financing the deployment of the two vaccines.
“With two products now available to countries, increased supplies of malaria vaccines will be a game-changer for children’s survival and health,” said Leila Bakala, Director of the UNICEF Supply Division. “Our previous concerns about supply meeting demand have clearly dissipated,” she continued. “Our priority now is to get vaccines to every child at risk.”
The R21 and RTS,S vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective in preventing malaria in children, and the RTS,S vaccine was given to more than two million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi as part of a four-year pilot program that showed a 13 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.
Malaria is one of the world's deadliest diseases, killing nearly half a million children under the age of five in Africa every year.
The Central African Republic has one of the highest rates of malaria in the world. In 2022, an estimated 1,733,000 malaria cases were reported in the country, with an average of about 4,747 cases per day. The disease also claimed the lives of about 5,180 people during the year, or 14 deaths every day.
“Having two safe and effective vaccines means we have greater security of vaccine supply and can therefore be more confident in meeting countries' needs,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of the GAVI Vaccine Alliance. “What is most important is that the countries where our vaccines can deliver “The greatest impact would be to obtain it, saving thousands of lives every year and providing relief to families, communities and entire health systems.”
The Central African Republic, along with Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Sudan and Uganda, is preparing to receive shipments of the R21 vaccine.
To date, approximately 4.33 million doses of RTS,S have been delivered to eight countries that currently provide the vaccine as part of their routine childhood vaccination programs within their national malaria plans: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi and Sierra Leone. Burundi and Niger are next in the list of RTS,S vaccine shipments.
Deliveries of vaccines to countries funded by the GAVI Vaccine Alliance depend on governments' requests and willingness to include the vaccine in routine immunization programmes.
The GAVI Alliance, UNICEF, WHO and partners are supporting governments as they prepare to receive and start using vaccines. This includes supporting countries in developing vaccine implementation plans and communication strategies, conducting health worker training and community engagement, and ensuring adequate cold chain capacity.
Dr Kate O'Brien, Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals at the World Health Organization, said: “Malaria vaccines, included as part of the tools available in comprehensive national malaria control plans, would significantly reduce the number of early childhood deaths and could Helps revitalize malaria control efforts With the addition of the R21 vaccine to the RTS and S vaccine for use in national immunization programs, the use of the malaria vaccine will continue to expand in parts of Africa where malaria remains a major cause of child mortality and will provide high community demand for vaccines “Malaria is an opportunity for children to receive other vaccines that may be necessary, which will lead to more lives being saved.”
Malaria vaccines are an important addition to efforts to combat the disease. Careful planning is necessary to ensure the successful introduction of malaria vaccines and to combine them with other interventions, including insecticide-treated nets or indoor residual spraying, chemoprevention, diagnostics and immediate treatments, in order to maximize the public health impact.