Ghana becomes the first country to approve a second malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M™. This is a significant development in the fight against malaria, which is a major killer of children in Africa.
The vaccine is developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured and scaled up by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
It has been approved for use in children aged 5 to 36 months, the age group at highest risk of death from malaria. R21 has a three-dose primary series with a fourth (booster) dose a year later.
The approval of R21 comes alongside the RTS,S vaccine, which was prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022 following a recommendation for its wider use in 2021.
These two vaccines offer a new way to protect children from malaria and could save millions of lives.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is ready to provide funding for R21 and to support its adoption alongside RTS,S. Gavi has already approved funding for a malaria vaccine programme and is ready to support countries to introduce the vaccine. Gavi is also working with partners to support the production of the vaccine in Africa.
The approval of R21 is a major step forward in the fight against malaria. It offers a new way to protect children from this deadly disease and could save millions of lives.
