The Nigerian government has taken delivery of the first batch of R21 Malaria vaccines, a major step in its efforts to combat malaria, especially among Vulnerable Populations like children under five and pregnant women. These vaccinations have arrived as part of a World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to provide malaria Vaccines to African nations with high malaria rates, including Nigeria. This is a significant turning point in the battle against malaria, which continues to claim the lives of thousands of children in Nigeria under the age of five every year.
It is anticipated that the availability of these vaccines will drastically lower the number of cases and fatalities from malaria, especially in communities that are more vulnerable. The government have designed a distribution plan that gives priority to places that are impacted by Malaria the most, particularly rural areas with poor access to medical treatment. Before going statewide, the first deployment will concentrate on these high-burden locations. Clinical trials conducted throughout Africa have demonstrated that the vaccines, known as RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix), significantly lower the number of cases and mortality of malaria among young children.
Distribution will start with malaria-prevalent states.
With this rollout, Nigeria will now be the third nation in Africa to use the vaccination, after Kenya and Ghana, which both started doing so in 2023. As part of Nigeria’s routine immunization schedule, infants under one year old will receive the four doses of the malaria vaccine. In November 2024, the first phase of the rollout, which calls for the distribution of approximately 800,000 doses, will start in the malaria-prevalent states of Kebbi and Bayelsa.
Critical malaria control initiatives, such as the provision of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) and Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLINs), have been spearheaded by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health. The release of the Malaria Vaccine represents the addition of yet another potent weapon to the nation’s all-encompassing effort to fight the disease. The debut of the malaria vaccine, according to Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, represents a significant advancement in the country’s efforts to lower malaria morbidity and mortality. He added that the country is moving in the right direction toward the goal of achieving a malaria-free Nigeria with the aid of UNICEF, Gavi, and WHO.
Child mortality is expected to reduce by 13 percent.
Gavi and UNICEF have been instrumental in providing funding and distributing the vaccinations. Gavi and the Nigerian government cover the cost of vaccines, transportation, and administration; UNICEF handles procurement and shipping and collaborates with WHO to help administration. Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, noted that this is an important phase in the collective mission to save lives and protect children from preventable diseases like malaria. He added that millions of Nigerian families’ lives would change as a result of the introduction of this vaccine, particularly in the areas where malaria is most prevalent.
Moreover, the introduction of the malaria vaccine is in line with Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme, which aims to eradicate malaria from the nation in the near future. Nigeria plans to incorporate the vaccine into its regular immunization schedule, requiring four doses of the vaccine for every child over time. It is expected to reduce Child Mortality by 13% and hospitalizations due to severe malaria by 22%. Nigeria may make substantial progress in lowering malaria fatalities and transmission by combining the vaccine with already-available interventions like SMC and LLINs.
Related Article: Nigeria’s malaria rate dropped to 22%
Moving forward, Nigeria intends to dramatically extend its malaria vaccination program in the future, focusing on regions with the greatest rates of malaria transmission, to include states other than Kebbi and Bayelsa. By 2025, the first stage of this development will expand to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 19 states in total. In order to guarantee effective vaccination delivery, the government is also concentrating on bolstering the healthcare system, collaborating with community health workers, and utilizing alliances with global organizations like Gavi. This initiative’s successful implementation could serve as a precedent for other African nations with high malaria rates that want to increase immunization campaigns.