DRC: Towards a malaria vaccination campaign
The Congolese authorities have announced the reception of a significant shipment of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
This initial batch consists of 693.500 doses, which will be administered to children aged 6 months, 7 months, 9 months, and 15 months, requiring four doses each. According to the Ministry of Health, priority will be given to the provinces most affected by malaria, particularly Kongo-Central, Grand Bandundu, and Kinshasa, while awaiting a second shipment to expand malaria vaccination to the remaining 23 provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“For the first time in the DRC, we are receiving a vaccine to fight malaria, one of the leading causes of mortality, especially among children who bear the brunt of this disease. It goes without saying that all solutions to reduce mortality due to this disease must be implemented. This vaccine has been proven effective, having been used in other African countries on more than 2 million children. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Health has chosen to use this vaccine to reduce malaria-related mortality”, stated Dr. Samuel Roger Kamba, Minister of Health, Hygiene, and Prevention.
In this regard, praising the quality of the vaccine, the Minister of Health assured the Congolese population that an internal verification process would also be conducted through the Ministry of Scientific Research, following the same procedures applied to other imported vaccines. The R21 is the second malaria vaccine recommended by the World Health Organization, following the RTS, S/AS01 vaccine recommended in 2021.
It is worth noting that the DRC reported 27.657.762 malaria cases, including 24,344 deaths, in 2023, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health.
