Yesterday, 2 April, marked a pivotal step forward for baby health: almost 2.3 million doses of malaria vaccines are as a result of be allotted across Uganda.
Yesterday, 2 April, marked a pivotal step forward for baby health: almost 2.3 million doses of malaria vaccines are as a result of be allotted across Uganda.
This initial phase will target 105 districts with high and moderate malaria transmission rates, laying the groundwork for broader distribution. The country has secured a total of 3.5 million doses, with plans to expand coverage in subsequent phases.
“The malaria vaccine is a major milestone in the fight against the disease, turning malaria into a vaccine-preventable disease,” says Dr. Jimmy Opigo, Assistant Commissioner for Health Services and products at the National Malaria Regulate Division. “For the 5-10 percent of the population that could have their malaria turn into severe malaria, especially non-immune children under five, it’s a matter of life and death and the vaccine is now handy to prevent such life-threatening situations among this group. When complemented with other existing tools, we hope to have a major impact on the malaria burden.”
As of April 2025, the malaria vaccine is being launched into the routine immunisation schedule, targeting adolescents beneath two years of age. The primary vaccinations took place in Apac, northern Uganda — described as the district with the largest sequence of mosquito bites on the earth. The rollout will present crucial aid in a country where malaria remains the leading cause of illness and death of young adolescents; 20,000 adolescents beneath five die from malaria every year in Uganda.
Malaria Consortium will play a key position in assisting with the rollout, as part of the SEND-Malaria Vaccine Initiative. By this undertaking, Malaria Consortium is providing assistance to the Ministry of Health in Uganda, as smartly as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Uganda’s National Malaria Regulate Division; the Uganda Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI); UNICEF; and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Malaria Consortium is proud to support the Ministry of Health in the rollout of malaria vaccines in Uganda, a milestone in the fight against malaria. Our role includes strengthening health systems, facilitating community engagement to build vaccine confidence and ensuring equitable access — particularly in hard-to-reach areas like Karamoja,” says Anthony Nuwa, Senior Nation Technical Coordinator at Malaria Consortium Uganda. “By working closely with local health authorities and communities, we are committed to making this life-saving intervention available to those who need it most, helping to reduce the burden of malaria and protect vulnerable populations across the country.” Community acceptability is critical to the vaccine’s success, as widespread have faith and uptake are necessary to achieve meaningful reductions in malaria cases. In Karamoja, Malaria Consortium has carried out sensitisation work to ready the general public, in conjunction with training healthcare staff in communication to address vaccine hesitancy and mobilising communities to create demand for the vaccine. These key messages will obtain part of a public awareness campaign aimed at reaching over 1,000,000 other folks in Karamoja — approximately 80 p.c of the place’s population.
“[A]t any given opportunity we need to encourage caretakers and guardians to visit any of the facilities so that they can receive the malaria vaccine, but also other routine immunisation products — and not to forget that other interventions are still key,” says Dr Annet Kisakye, WHO’s National Professional Officer for Routine Immunization. “Because if we have that complete package, then we will be able to reduce the impact of the malaria disease in this country.”
Malaria Consortium has been actively supporting the Ministry of Health to assemble communication materials for the malaria vaccine, facilitating their translation into Karamojong languages to make certain accessibility and neighborhood understanding. In addition, Malaria Consortium assisted the Ministry of Health to conduct district entry conferences at the tip of March to extra enhance local engagement. In April, Malaria Consortium is also carrying out health facility and neighborhood health worker training at the sub-county stage to equip frontline staff with the necessary information and talents to administer the vaccines.
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An important part of the rollout involves its integration with Uganda’s seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaign to make certain a streamlined and effective implementation approach. Earlier research has indicated that a combined approach leads to increased protection against malaria for young adolescents.
Uganda’s malaria vaccine rollout marks a major step within the combat against the disease, aiming to give protection to millions of young adolescents. If profitable, it may be a turning level within the country’s battle against malaria. Sustained dedication to vaccine access, neighborhood engagement and broader malaria retain watch over efforts shall be essential to make certain lasting growth.
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5 December 2024Paving the way for Uganda’s malaria vaccine rolloutForm: Weblog post
