Malaria vaccines now reach children in 25 African countries

Malaria still kills hundreds of thousands of African children every year, but vaccines are now part of the fight. In April 2026, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, reported that 25 African countries offer malaria vaccines in their routine childhood immunisation programmes.

The numbers

• More than 52 million doses have been delivered since 2023.
• Two WHO-recommended vaccines are in use: RTS,S and R21, the latter developed with the University of Oxford and made in large volumes by the Serum Institute of India.
• Gavi has described it as the fastest vaccine rollout in its history.

Early results

The first country reports are encouraging. In Burkina Faso, reported malaria cases fell 32% between 2024 and 2025, and malaria deaths among children nearly halved. Gavi also reports fewer severe cases and hospital admissions among vaccinated children in countries including Kenya, Malawi, Ghana and Cameroon.

The funding gap

Gavi aims to reach 50 million children with a full course of malaria vaccine by 2030, and five more countries are expected to start using it. But the malaria programme faces a budget shortfall of nearly 30%, which could slow progress.

Why it matters

Vaccines work alongside bed nets, spraying and treatment to protect children in the areas where malaria is most deadly. The next goal is to make more vaccines on the continent, so Africa is less dependent on imports.