The Nigerian government has rolled out a new malaria vaccine that will be freely administered to recipients in the country.
Disclosing this to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, the Health Minister, Muhammad Ali Pate, said that the development marked a significant milestone in its fight against the deadly disease.
It was gathered that the launch makes Nigeria one of the first in the world to commence the use of the new R21 vaccine, developed by scientists at Oxford University and made by the Serum Institute of India and Novavax.
Meanwhile, the Health Minister said that the country had received 846,200 doses of the vaccine, procured in partnership with global vaccine group Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF.
He said: “The Vaccines are not enough, so in the context that they are not enough but free, I want to encourage all well-meaning Nigerians to take advantage of the limited availability and make their wards available to be administered and protected.”
The roll out will start with two pilot states of Kebbi in the north and Bayelsa on the coast, ahead of a national roll out, Pate said.
Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, kills more than 600,000 people each year, most of them African babies and children.
