缅北禁地

听

Twelve countries across different regions in Africa are set to receive 18 million doses of the first-ever malaria vaccine over the next two years.听

The roll out is听a critical step forward in the fight against one of the leading causes of death on the continent.

The allocations have been determined through the application of the principles outlined in the听听for allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply that prioritizes those doses to areas of highest need, where the risk of malaria illness and death among children are highest.

Since 2019, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have been delivering the malaria vaccine through the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP), coordinated by WHO and funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Unitaid.听

The RTS,S/AS01 vaccine has been administered to more than 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi since 2019 and has been shown to be听, resulting in both a substantial reduction in severe malaria and a fall in child deaths.听

At least 28 African countries have expressed interest in receiving the malaria vaccine.

In addition to Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the initial 18 million dose allocation will enable nine more countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the DR Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda, to introduce the vaccine into their routine immunization programmes for the first time.听

This allocation round makes use of the supply of vaccine doses available to Gavi, Vaccine Alliance via UNICEF.听

The first doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in countries during the last quarter of 2023, with countries starting to roll them out by early 2024.听

鈥淭his vaccine has the potential to be very impactful in the fight against malaria, and when broadly deployed alongside other interventions, it can prevent tens of thousands of future deaths every year,鈥� said Thabani Maphosa, Managing Director of Country Programmes Delivery at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.听

鈥淲hile we work with manufacturers to help ramp up supply, 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.鈥�

Malaria remains one of Africa鈥檚 deadliest diseases, killing nearly half a million children under the age of 5, and accounting for approximately 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of deaths in 2021.听

鈥淣early every minute, a child under 5 years old dies of malaria,鈥� said UNICEF Associate Director of Immunization Ephrem T Lemango. 鈥淔or a long time, these deaths have been preventable and treatable; but the roll-out of this vaccine will give children, especially in Africa, an even better chance at surviving. As supply increases, we hope even more children can benefit from this life-saving advancement.鈥�

鈥淭he malaria vaccine is a breakthrough to improve child health and child survival; and families and communities, rightly,听want this vaccine for their children. This first allocation of malaria vaccine doses is prioritised for children at highest risk of dying of malaria,鈥澨齭aid Dr Kate O鈥橞rien, WHO Director of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.听

鈥淭he 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听to increase supply until all children at risk have access.鈥�

Given the limited supply in the first years of the roll-out of this new vaccine, in 2022, WHO convened expert advisors, primarily from Africa 鈥� where the burden of malaria is greatest 鈥� to support the development of a听听for the allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply, to guide where initial limited doses would be allocated.听

The Framework is based on ethical principles on a foundation of solidarity; and it proposes that vaccine allocation begin in the areas of greatest need.听听

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. The group鈥檚 recommendations were reviewed and endorsed by the Senior Leadership Endorsement Group of Gavi, WHO and UNICEF.听

Annual global demand for malaria vaccines is estimated at 40鈥�60 million doses by 2026 alone, growing to 80鈥�100 million doses each year by 2030.听

In addition to the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine, developed and produced by GSK, and in the future supplied by Bharat Biotech, it is expected that a second vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, developed by Oxford University and manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII), could also be prequalified by WHO soon. Gavi has recently outlined its听听to support increasing supply to meet demand.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

路听听听听听听听Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world鈥檚 children against some of the world鈥檚 deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi鈥檚 work听.

路听听听听听听听Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation 鈥� over 1 billion children 鈥� and prevented more than 16.2 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries.听

路听听听听听听听Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot.听

路听听听听听听听The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology 鈥� from drones to biometrics 鈥� to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at听听and connect with us on听听and听.

路听听听听听听听Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In its role, Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.