Vaccination against malaria in the DR Congo. An additional 7 million children could be vaccinated against malaria due to sharp declines in the price of malaria vaccines. Healthcare
The Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization (Gavi) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) yesterday signed an agreement on a new pricing mechanism that will significantly reduce the cost of a key malaria vaccine. Thanks to this, by 2030, almost seven million additional children will be protected from the deadly disease.
In accordance with the agreement, the price of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine will drop to $2.99 per dose within a year. This will save up to $90 million and enable countries to purchase more than 30 million additional doses over the next five years.
“We are using innovative financial instruments and partnerships to ensure access vaccines that will better protect children from one of the deadliest killers in the world Africa,” noted the head of vaccination programs and markets, Gavi En Vermeers.
Almost 600 thousand deaths in 2023
Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. In 2023, it claimed the lives of approximately 597 thousand people, the vast majority of whom were small children from African countries. About every minute, one child dies from malaria.
“Such a high mortality rate requires action, said UNICEF Supply Director Leila Pakkala. – Amid dwindling international aid UNICEF will work with partners to ensure the supply of sufficient quantities of vaccines at the most affordable price.”
Reducing the cost of vaccinations was made possible thanks to an advance payment provided by the International Financing Facility for Immunization (IMFI). Thus, the funds that donors promised to allocate in the longer term have become available now. Thanks to this, Gavi can react quickly when an opportunity arises to influence the market situation vaccines.
From ambitions to action
“MMFI was created in order to turn ambitions into actions – said chairman of the board organizations Ken Lay. “This agreement demonstrates how financial innovation can unlock life-saving opportunities.” Twenty-four African countries have included malaria vaccination in their national immunization schedules, and more than 40 million doses have already been delivered through programs supported by Gavi.
Demand remains high: 14 countries introduced the vaccine for the first time last year, with another seven doing so in 2025.
The price reduction will bring Gavi towards achieving goals – to vaccinate against malaria by the end of the decade 50 million children.
Both World Health Organization-recommended vaccines, R21/Matrix-M and RTS,S, have been shown to reduce malaria cases by more than half within the first year after vaccination, with additional protection provided after another dose.
“It’s about giving every child an equal chance for protection, said Lay. – It’s about salvation lives already now, and not years later.”