Nigeria has officially commenced its malaria vaccination campaign, aiming to protect millions of children across high-risk states from the deadly disease.
The first batch of 846,000 doses of the R21 malaria vaccine arrived in Abuja on Thursday, marking a significant step toward malaria eradication efforts.
With the country accounting for approximately 27% of global malaria cases, the World Health Organization reports that Nigeria experienced nearly 67 million infections and nearly 200,000 malaria-related deaths in 2022, with children under the age of five constituting about 80% of the fatalities.
Dr. Muyi Aina, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the initial rollout prioritizes high-risk regions.
"We expect another 140,000 or so to make a million doses in this first batch,” Aina said. “Every child, every person that is vaccinated, needs to get two doses. So, we know that that's a limited number of people. So, we have prioritized the highest-burden locations in the country, Kebbi and Bayelsa.”
The government is covering part of the vaccine costs, with global vaccine group Gavi and international partners funding the rest.