WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Vaccine alliance Gavi and children's agency UNICEF have struck a new pricing deal that will sharply cut the cost of a key malaria vaccine and make it possible to protect nearly seven million additional children by 2030, the agencies announced on Sunday.
Under the agreement, the price of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine will fall to $2.99 per dose within a year - a reduction expected to save up to $90 million. Those savings should allow countries to secure more than 30 million extra doses over the next five years.
'Today's announcement is a powerful example of what our Vaccine Alliance does best,' said An Vermeersch, Gavi's Chief Vaccine Programs & Markets Officer.
'We are leveraging innovative financing and partnerships to secure affordable vaccines that can better protect children against one of Africa's biggest killers.'
Malaria remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. In 2023, it caused an estimated 597000 deaths, the vast majority among young children in Africa. A child dies from the disease roughly every minute.
More than 40 million malaria vaccine doses have already been delivered through Gavi-supported programs, with 24 African countries now integrating malaria vaccination into routine immunization.
Demand is strong. 14 countries introduced the vaccine for the first time last year, and another seven have done so in 2025, according to UNICEF.
The lower price is expected to help Gavi move closer to its target of fully vaccinating 50 million additional children against malaria by the end of the decade.
Both WHO-recommended malaria vaccines, R21/Matrix-M and RTS,S, have been shown to reduce malaria cases by more than half in the first year after vaccination, with further protection following a booster dose.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News