From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
GAVI, the vaccine alliance, has donated 18 million doses of malaria vaccine for distribution to 12 African countries, Nigeria excluded, for the commencement of malaria vaccine immunization for children for the 2023–2025 period Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme.
It was gathered that the first batch of the consignment is expected to arrive in countries during the last quarter of 2023, and countries are expected to roll them out by early 2024.
GAVI said that aside from Ghana, Kenya and Malawi which have piloted the immunization in chosen locations in their countries, the initial 18 million dose allocation will enable nine more countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda, to introduce the vaccine into their routine immunisation programmes for the first time.
In a statement posted on their website, GAVI the vaccine alliance explained that the rollout is a critical step forward in the fight against malaria being one of the leading causes of death in Africa.
It said the allocations were determined through the application of the principles outlined in the framework for allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply that prioritized those in areas of highest need, where the risk of malaria illness and death among children are highest.
It stated that in 2022, WHO convened expert advisors, primarily from Africa where the burden of malaria was high to support the development of a framework for the allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply, to guide where initially limited doses would be allocated, and it was proposed that vaccine allocation begins in areas of greatest need.
GAVI confirmed that the framework implementation group that applied the framework principles included representatives of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), UNICEF, WHO and the GAVI Secretariat, as well as representatives of civil society and independent advisors, and the group’s recommendations were reviewed and endorsed by the Senior Leadership Endorsement Group of Gavi, WHO and UNICEF.
Managing Director of Country Programmes Delivery at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Thabani Maphosa, confirmed that the vaccine has the potential to be very impactful in the fight against malaria, and when broadly deployed alongside other interventions, can prevent tens of thousands of future deaths every year,
He said: “While we work with manufacturers to ramp up supplies, 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 maintained that Malaria remains one of Africa’s deadliest diseases, killing nearly half a million children under the age of five every year, and accounting for approximately 95 per cent of global malaria cases and 96 per cent of deaths in 2021.
Ephrem Lemango, the UNICEF Associate Director of Immunization, said that nearly every minute, a child under five years old dies of malaria. “For a long time, these deaths have been preventable and treatable; but the roll-out of this vaccine will give children, especially in Africa, a better chance at surviving. As supply increases, we hope even more children can benefit from this life-saving advancement.”
Dr. Kate O’Brien, WHO Director of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, in his submissions, said the malaria vaccine is a breakthrough that will improve child health and child survival.
“This first allocation of malaria vaccine doses is prioritized for children at highest risk of dying of malaria. The high demand for the vaccine 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,” he said.
