Gavi supplies 9.8m doses of malaria vaccines to Nigeria, others

One year since the launch of routine malaria vaccinations in Africa, over 9.8 million doses of malaria vaccines have been delivered to 17 endemic countries including Nigeria through the Gavi malaria vaccination programme.

In total, an estimated 5 million children in these 17 countries that collectively represent more than 70 percent of the world’s malaria burden have been protected, according to an official statement issued by Gavi.

Last month, with support from Gavi and Partners, Nigeria, a country with the highest burden of malaria globally, began a phased rollout in Kebbi and Bayelsa states, where malaria prevalence is particularly high.

Over 800,000 vaccine doses are set to be distributed in the first phase, marking a critical step towards reducing the devastating impact of the disease.

Coordinated by WHO and funded by Gavi and partners, this pilot reached over 2 million children, and demonstrated that the malaria vaccine led to a significant reduction in malaria illnesses, a 13 percent drop in overall child mortality and even higher reductions in hospitalizations.

In January 2024, Cameroon became the first country to launch the vaccine as part of its routine immunisation programme, beginning with 42 districts. By the end of 2026, the country aims to scale up to all 205 districts.

Data released this month by Cameroon’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) found that districts included in the first wave of vaccination saw a higher drop, of 17 percent in all-cause hospital or clinic consultations for children under five years than those areas without the vaccine.

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About 60 percent of the malaria-vaccinating districts recorded a drop in all-cause under-five deaths, and 57 percent recorded a drop in deaths linked to malaria in children aged under five.

With the vaccine administered so far to over 130,000 children in the country, experts caution that – while these results are promising and consistent with MVIP findings – additional data, study and follow-ups are needed to demonstrate the direct impact of the vaccine.

Additionally, data on malaria burden in children under five, aggregated at the global, regional and national levels, will likely underestimate overall vaccine impact for another few years.  This is because rollouts have just begun, meaning only the youngest children in this under five age group have begun to receive the malaria vaccine – and due to the phased approach taken by countries.

Sania Nishtar, chief executive officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance said the organisation

Gavi is supporting countries to rollout the malaria vaccine because it is a tool that can save lives and relieve the terrible burden this deadly disease places on families, communities, and health systems.

“This early data is a small indicator of the potential public health impact of a programme we hope to scale up dramatically by the end of the decade – protecting tens of millions of children around the world, and reducing the stress malaria places on African health systems,”  she said.

Gavi has also announced plans to significantly expand its malaria vaccine program in 2025.

The organisation anticipates introducing the vaccine in 6 to 8 new countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, and Burundi, while also scaling up vaccination efforts in countries that have already included it in their routine immunization programs.

This expansion is expected to protect an additional 13 million children with the malaria vaccine by the end of 2025.

Looking ahead to the period from 2026 to 2030, Gavi aims to protect a further 50 million children with four doses of the malaria vaccine.

However, achieving this critical objective hinges on the successful replenishment of Gavi’s funding for its next strategic period.

In March 2025, Gavi, the European Union, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will co-host an event to secure at least US$9 billion from donors to support the Alliance’s mission to protect more people against more diseases, faster than ever before.