How to achieve high uptake of malaria vaccines? New practical guides published for planning and implementation.
As of October 2023, WHO recommends the use of malaria vaccines for children living in endemic areas, prioritizing settings with moderate and high transmission.
New vaccine introduction requires a range of strategies to achieve high confidence and uptake. To support the rollout of malaria vaccines with high demand and uptake, immunization and malaria partners have developed a practical set of tools, templates and guidance. These tools have been developed based on evidence and experience from new vaccine introductions and the implementation of the first malaria vaccine RTS,S since 2019.
Developed for use alongside the Guide for introducing a malaria vaccine into national immunization programmes, the new resources consist of:
- A planning guide for demand-related interventions
- A risk communications guide
- Training modules on demand promotion and communications for health workers
These materials provide immunization and malaria programmes and partners with adaptable, practical guidance on how to:
- Gather and use behavioural data for planning and evaluation
- Support health worker communication
- Engage communities
- Promote accurate information – with sample messaging
- Prepare and respond to communication-related events
- Connect malaria vaccination activities to broader integrated approaches for vaccine equity, life-course vaccination, primary health care strengthening, and malaria prevention and control.
Where to access these new materials?
Visit the TechNet-21 malaria vaccine page to access the Demand planning guide, Risk communication guide , and the related health worker training modules.
These materials are all available as part of the full set of WHO malaria vaccine technical resources for introduction.