New evidence confirms malaria vaccine saves child lives and will have high impact in wider rollout

Findings of a rigorous evaluation of the public health use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine, published in The Lancet, confirm significant reduction in child deaths in the first African countries to offer the vaccine. 

Over a period of four years, an estimated 1 in 8 child deaths were averted among those eligible to receive the malaria vaccine in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. According to the authors, positive impact is likely to be as high or higher in other African countries now offering malaria vaccines to young children in areas of high malaria burden. 

The evaluation assessed data generated through the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP), which examined the outcomes of malaria vaccine introduction in the first three countries from 2019 to 2023. 

Despite global progress, malaria continues to take a devastating toll on children in Africa. In 2024, an estimated 438,000 African children died from the disease. Tens of thousands of lives could be saved every year through the wide implementation of World Health Organization (WHO) recommended malaria vaccines, RTS,S or R21. WHO recommends an integrated approach because the highest impact on malaria is achieved when countries apply a combination of preventive, diagnostic and treatment strategies.  

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Source: WHO, 8 May 2026