Two new malaria vaccines are being rolled out across Africa — how they work and what they promise Premium

Malaria incidents are on the rise. There were 249 million cases of this parasitic disease in 2022, five million more than in 2021.

Malaria incidents are on the rise. There were 249 million cases of this parasitic disease in 2022, five million more than in 2021. Africa suffers more than any other region from malaria, with 94% of cases and 95% of deaths worldwide.

This year two revolutionary malaria vaccines are being rolled out across the continent. Nadine Dreyer asks Jaishree Raman if 2024 will be the year the continent takes a significant leap towards beating the disease.

The RTS,S vaccine was the first to target a parasite. It was developed by the Walter Reed Army Research Institute after 30 years of intense research and approved by the World Health Organization in 2021.

After decades of vaccine research, a second malaria vaccine was approved just two years after the RTS,S vaccine. The R21/Matrix is a second-generation RTS,S vaccine. It was developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and approved by the WHO in October 2023.

While the fight against malaria has been significantly bolstered by the availability of these vaccines, they are not the silver bullets that are going to get us to an Africa free of malaria.

They are, nonetheless, a welcome addition to the malaria elimination toolbox and ideally should be used together with other control strategies like long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets, rapid diagnosis, and treatment with an effective antimalarial.

This will be the year that many vulnerable young African children will have access to not one, but two malaria vaccines.