1.1 Guide for introducing a malaria vaccine into national immunization programmes (draft)

The purpose of this guide is to summarize current global recommendations and programmatic considerations on the malaria vaccine. The guide aims to support immunization programme decision-makers and managers, immunization partners and stakeholders, and national malaria control programmes (NMCPs) considering or planning a malaria vaccine introduction and/or expansion.

The guide outlines:

1. key considerations for country decision-making and roll-out of the malaria vaccine based on global recommendations and pilot implementation experience (including lessons learned from the malaria vaccine pilot countries —Ghana, Kenya and Malawi);
2. the importance of collaboration between the national immunization programme and malaria control programmes, as well as integration with other health services; and
3. ways in which malaria vaccination strategies can be planned, communicated, delivered and monitored.

As of 25 July 2023 (finalization of this guide), there was one malaria vaccine (RTS,S/AS01) recommended by WHO for programmatic use (2021) and prequalified by WHO for country regulatory reviews (2022). A second malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, is currently being assessed by WHO and its relevant advisory bodies for regulatory prequalification and for recommendation on its public health use (the latter through the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and the Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG)). This guide will be updated as relevant for this or any other malaria vaccine as they become available.