Nigeria is set to receive its first consignment of the highly anticipated malaria vaccines on Thursday, marking a significant step in the country’s fight against one of its deadliest diseases. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency announced that the vaccines would be received in Abuja by health minister Muhammad Ali Pate. The World Health Organisation is distributing the vaccines to high-burden countries across Africa, including Nigeria.
The introduction of the malaria vaccine is expected to significantly reduce malaria cases and deaths, especially in vulnerable populations. Nigeria will be the third African country to introduce the vaccine, following Ghana and Kenya, which began using the vaccine in 2023. The expected vaccines, known as RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix), have been proven to reduce malaria cases and mortality among young children in large clinical trials across Africa.
Nigeria accounts for 27% of global malaria cases and 31% of global malaria deaths, making it the country with the highest malaria burden in the world. The National Malaria Elimination Programme launched the High Burden High Impact (HBHI) approach in response to the ongoing malaria crisis, aiming to reduce malaria prevalence to below 10% and malaria-related deaths to fewer than 50 per 1,000 people by 2025.
