The Federal Government said there is high hope that Nigeria will get the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) newly-recommended R21/Matrix-M vaccine for the prevention of malaria in children by mid-2024.
The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Monday.
The organisation, on Monday, recommended the R21 malaria vaccine following advice from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation and the Malaria Policy Advisory Group.
The NPHCDA boss, Shuaib, said there was hope that Nigeria would get the R21 malaria vaccine by mid-2024
“WHO has to prioritise Nigeria because Nigeria has a population of kids with malaria burden, so they have to look at places where the burden of malaria is high and prioritise those countries. So, definitely, there is hope that Nigeria will get it in mid-2024
“We are working with our partner, Gavi, and it is a priority for us. We will announce the date when Nigeria will get it in the next few days but it is great news that the WHO has recommended the vaccine”, he said.
