PRESS RELEASE
GAVI OPENS APPLICATIONS FOR MALARIA VACCINE
ROLLOUT SUPPORT
Gavi is opening its first application window for support in rolling out the first ever malaria vaccine, to protect children against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands in Africa.
Ghana, Kenya & Malawi are invited to apply by 13 September. Other countries can submit expressions of interest in advance of a second window at the end of 2022.
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: “The work towards a malaria vaccine has been long and hard. Today we begin a new chapter: alongside existing interventions, this new tool will allow us to save more lives in countries hit hardest by this killer disease.”
Geneva, 20 July 2022 – The world’s first-ever mass vaccination against malaria was brought a step closer today as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance opened a process for countries to apply for funding and support to roll out the new vaccine.
The opening of the application window follows the WHO’s recommendation for wider routine use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in October 2021 and a subsequent decision by the Gavi Board in December 2021 to approve an initial investment of US$ 155.7 million for the 2022–2025 period. Malaria vaccination was additionally supported by a US$ 56 million investment through a “de-risk” agreement with manufacturer GSK and innovative financing partner MedAccess. In recognition of the technical requirements of rollout and the need to provide tailored support to countries, a first application window, which closes 13 September, will be limited to the three countries that have taken part in the vaccine’s multi-year pilot programme: Kenya, Ghana and Malawi.
A second window, which opens at the end of the year and closes in January, is open to other countries with moderate to high transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. These countries can already submit expressions of interest (EoIs) during the first funding window to signal interest and provide them with the needed support to submit quality applications.
“The work towards a malaria vaccine has been long and hard,” said Gavi CEO Dr Seth Berkley. “Today we begin a new chapter: alongside existing interventions, this new tool will allow us to save more lives in countries hit hardest by this killer disease.”
The introduction of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine builds on successful implementation pilots and will be the first ever widespread malaria vaccination programme. Alongside currently recommended malaria control interventions – and alongside these existing protections, it could help drive down child mortality in Africa, the continent that bears the heaviest malaria burden. More than 260 000 African children under the age of five years old die from malaria annually, and six Gavi-eligible countries account for 50% of global mortality.
“One child dies of malaria every minute in Africa, and we must do everything possible to stop this trend. The new funding opportunity will make the world’s only malaria vaccine more accessible to African children. If delivered to scale, the vaccine will help to prevent millions of cases of malaria, save tens of thousands of lives and ensure a brighter future for the continent,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
Alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) announcement of finalization of the vaccine allocation framework to facilitate transparent and equitable allocation of limited vaccine supplies and UNICEF’s procurement agreement for the RTS,S vaccine, Gavi’s application guidelines (found here) are based on targeted support that will grow as volumes of available doses increase through an expected ramp-up in production.
“A vaccine has been the missing piece in the malaria toolkit since UNICEF first took up the fight against malaria decades ago, making this very welcome news,” said Etleva Kadilli, Director of UNICEF’s supply and procurement headquarters. “We look forward to working with Gavi, WHO and other partners to bring this vaccine to the children who need it.”
The Alliance and other partners will also work with countries to provide orientation and technical assistance to ensure quality planning and country readiness in view of future application windows. Applications will be reviewed by the Gavi Independent Review Committee (IRC), and successful applicants will then have a period of implementation planning support before rollout.
About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 888 million children – and prevented more than 15 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In its role, Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.
The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here.
