Malaria vaccination is significantly reducing child deaths in Africa, the World Health Organization said in May, citing a landmark study in The Lancet. The evaluation of the RTS,S vaccine across Ghana, Kenya and Malawi found that about one in eight deaths among eligible young children was prevented over four years.

The study covered the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme from 2019 to 2023 in 158 areas. 'This is very solid evidence of the potential for malaria vaccines to change the trajectory of child mortality in Africa,' said Dr Kate O'Brien, WHO's immunization director.

The rollout has since expanded fast: 25 African countries now include malaria vaccines in childhood programmes, and 28.3 million doses were distributed in 2025, up 169 percent on the year before, according to WHO.

The toll remains huge: an estimated 438,000 African children died of malaria in 2024. WHO says vaccines must be combined with bed nets, diagnosis and treatment, and is urging more funding so countries can buy enough doses to reach the most at-risk children.

Tens of thousands of young lives could be saved each year if WHO-recommended vaccines, RTS,S or R21, reach every child at high risk.