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Geneva, 2 October 2023 – Following the joint session of SAGE and the Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG) to present evidence on the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, WHO has today recommended the vaccine be used in children to prevent malaria in endemic areas. Today’s announcement means there are now two vaccines that can help meet the high demand from malaria-endemic regions of the world, and complement the range of existing malaria tools.
“The joint SAGE-MPAG recommendation to WHO of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine represents another major step towards our goal of creating a malaria-free life for every child,” said David Marlow, CEO, Gavi. “This vaccine, along with the existing RTS,S/AS01e vaccine, will be an effective complement to existing malaria interventions. Once it receives WHO prequalification, it will play a key role in meeting the high demand we are seeing in endemic countries.”
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance welcomes today’s announcement, which can help reshape the fight against malaria, a disease that, according to WHO data, killed 619,000 people globally in 2021. 96% of those deaths were in the Africa region, making malaria one of Africa’s biggest killers.
The announcement emphasises the key role these two vaccines and other interventions will play as the malaria community aims to advance its goals over the next decade. Alliance partners are already in conversation with countries about the potential rollout of a second vaccine as soon as 2024.
To read about how this new tool will complement the wide array of malaria tools available to countries, read the joint Rollback Malaria Partnership press release available here: https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/rbm-partnership-end-malaria-welcomes-who-recommendation-worlds-second-malaria-vaccine
Please feel free to quote. For further questions or comment or interviews, please contact media@gavi.org.
Notes to editors:
- The SAGE recommendation of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine represents another major step towards the goal of creating a malaria-free life for every child. The recommendation emphasises how this vaccine, along with the existing RTS,S/AS01e vaccine, will be an effective complement to existing malaria interventions.
- In 2022, once the RTS,S/AS01 received WHO prequalification, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance opened a funding window for applications from countries that wished to roll it out through Gavi programmes and with Gavi funding. Read more: https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/gavi-opens-applications-malaria-vaccine-rollout-support
- In July 2023, 18 million doses of RTS,S were allocated to 12 countries with a high malaria burden, and rollout of these doses is expected to begin in early 2024. Read more: https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/18-million-doses-first-ever-malaria-vaccine-allocated-12-african-countries-2023
- Similarly, the R21 vaccine still awaits WHO prequalification, which is a precondition to global rollout. Once a vaccine is prequalified it can then be offered through Gavi programmes. If R21 is recommended and prequalified, it would greatly ease supply issues and help us begin to meet the high demand from countries.
- There is high demand for the malaria vaccine – read more about how Gavi and partners help shape markets to ensure supply serves countries needs: https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/gavi-outlines-plans-build-sustainable-supply-malaria-vaccines
About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against some of the world’s 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’s work here. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 1 billion children – and prevented more than 17.3 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. 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. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
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