Nigeria malaria vaccine rollout reaches 1.8 million jabs

Nigeria's malaria vaccine rollout has reached 1.8 million jabs, with almost a quarter of a million children fully vaccinated, but the programme remains limited to four of the country's 36 states.

The first malaria vaccines arrived in Nigeria in late 2024. The disease killed nearly 200,000 Nigerians and about 600,000 people worldwide that year.

In Bayelsa state, health workers are giving children a four-dose course over the first 15 months of life. PATH, an NGO helping the state rollout, said Bayelsa has recorded an 18 percent drop in the rate of children under five who have malaria at any given time.

Hadiza Hussayn Jibril of PATH called the vaccine a breakthrough, but said it does not provide full protection.

Local health officials in Ogbia and Sagbama said the rollout has been slowed by difficult terrain, poor roads and villages reachable only by boat. Some health workers have made home visits when parents could not afford to travel for appointments.

Nigeria has about 240 million people and 68.5 million annual malaria infections. Children under five account for more than 75 percent of malaria deaths in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.