Optimizing the delivery and uptake of malaria vaccines in countries with areas of highly seasonal transmission in West and Central Africa (OPT-MVAC)

The availability of effective malaria vaccines is a historic landmark, “a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control” that “could save tens of thousands of young lives each year” [WHO 2021]. But substantial implementation challenges need to be addressed to realise this potential. In many areas where malaria vaccines will soon be introduced, EPI coverage is suboptimal, especially in the second year of life.
Introduction of malaria vaccines is also an opportunity to strengthen delivery of basic vaccines because a) additional immunisation visits will be required to administer 3 doses of malaria vaccine between the ages of 5 and 9 months and a fourth dose at about 2 years, and b) in areas with highly seasonal malaria, annual intensification of vaccine delivery may be advantageous to optimize malaria impact, both providing opportunities for catch-up of other vaccines, and c) recognition of the importance of malaria may lead to be less mistrust of malaria vaccines, as observed during pilot implementations; such positive attitudes could be leveraged to promote vaccination in general.
The project, which builds on a network of 13 countries that was established through the EDCTP-funded OPT-SMC project, coordinated by the University of Thiès in Senegal, the LIH, TDR, LSHTM, CAPM, MMV and WHO, will provide grants and technical assistance to national programmes to enable them to monitor vaccine introduction and identify barriers to uptake, and develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to address these barriers.

Eurpoean Commission Project detailsLIH Project details

Capacity Building
Health Systems
Operational Research
Vaccines

Jan 2025 — Jun 2029

$5.73M

Luxembourg
Senegal
Switzerland
United Kingdom