The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, on Thursday said the Global Vaccine Alliance, GAVI, has promised to prioritize Nigeria in the rollout of the R21/Matrix-Mmalaria vaccine.
Pate, who made this known during Gavi’s visit to the Primary Health Care Center in New Karu, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, said malaria is a very important disease that needs to be addressed.
“Gavi has just told us that over time they will prioritize Nigeria in the rollout of the new malaria vaccine,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean there aren’t more bed nets, it doesn’t mean there isn’t treatment, but at least we have additional tools in the fight against malaria.”
Malaria burden
Malaria, a disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes, kills more than 600,000 people each year, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, also accounts for a high percentage of the global malaria burden.
The Nigeria Malaria Report 2022 shows that malaria mortality rates in Nigeria decreased by 55 percent between the years 2000 and 2021, and incidence also decreased by 26 percent in the same period.
However, with the approval of a new vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, there is hope of ending the disease.
Vaccine against malaria
In April, the Nigerian government approved a new malaria vaccine from Oxford University, becoming the second country in the world after Ghana to grant such approval.
The R21/Matrix-M vaccine is developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
R21, also known as Matrix-M malaria vaccine, is the second vaccine ever developed for the disease.
Despite having a high number of malaria cases, Nigeria was excluded in July from the list of 12 African countries that will receive 18 million doses of the vaccine between 2023 and 2025.
According to a statement jointly issued by Gavi, WHOand UNICEF, the vaccine has been administered to more than 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi since 2019 and is safe and effective, resulting in a substantial reduction in severe malaria and a fall in deaths children.
They also said that at least 28 African countries have expressed interest in receiving the malaria vaccine.
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“In addition to Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the initial allocation of 18 million doses will allow 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 in their routine immunization programs for the first time.”
Investment in immunization
During the visit, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, said the choice of Nasarawa State was due to its investments in immunization and primary health care.
Shuaib said the dividends of the visit will be visible in the coming weeks.
In his statement, Gavi CEO David Marlow said GAVI’s visit is part of activities to take care of the countries in which they work.
Marlow said GAVI will continue the strong partnership that has been built over many years since 2000.
“We have been active in Nigeria and although much progress has been made in overall healthcare in the country, there is still a lot of work to be done,” he said.
“I spoke to the minister about the future opportunity to prevent deaths in Nigeria and the potential by 2030 to save the lives of 5.6 million people, and that does not even exclude many other potential vaccines, such as malaria, that we can bring to this country. “