Nigeria received the first batch of a new malaria vaccine and is set to start introducing it in Kebbi and Bayelsa states, in the country's north-west and south, where malaria prevalence is particularly high, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Swiss-based global health partnership Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the Nigerian government said in a joint statement on Thursday.
According to the press release, more than 800,000 doses of the vaccine will be distributed in Abuja.
"The arrival of the malaria vaccine is a monumental step in our national efforts to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality. With the support of UNICEF, GAVI, and WHO, we are on a path toward achieving our goal of a malaria-free Nigeria," the statement said, citing the Nigerian Health Minister, Muhammad Ali Pate.
The press release said that according to the 2023 World Malaria Report, nearly 200,000 deaths from malaria occurred in Nigeria. Children under five and pregnant women are the most vulnerable to the disease, the document added. The report underscored that worldwide, Nigeria accounts for 27% of the global malaria burden and 31% of malaria deaths.
Earlier, the Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement that a Russian medical team was deployed in the Republic of the Congo to help the country overcome an outbreak of intestinal infections in August: the Deputy Head of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Natalia Pshenichnaya, told Sputnik Africa in an interview that the Russian doctors' mission was successful.