Malaria Vaccines (RTS,S, R21)
WHO recommended the first malaria vaccine in 2021 and a second in 2023; by February 2026, 25 African countries offered them in routine child immunisation.
Open in the interactive tree →WHO recommended RTS,S in October 2021, based on a pilot in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that went on to reach more than 2 million children, and R21 followed in October 2023. Both vaccines reduced malaria cases by more than 50% in the first year after vaccination, and by about 75% when given seasonally where transmission is highly seasonal. WHO estimates one life saved for every 200 children vaccinated, and the pilot areas saw a vaccine-attributable 13% drop in mortality.
As of October 2026
On 4 February 2026 WHO counted 25 African countries offering malaria vaccines in childhood programmes and targeting more than 10 million children a year. Gavi reports over 39 million doses delivered by January 2026: 14 countries introduced the vaccines in 2024, 7 in 2025 and Guinea-Bissau in 2026. Many Gavi-supported countries pay as little as US$0.20 per dose, but protection is partial, with cases falling by about half rather than disappearing.
Open steps
- Blood-stage vaccine RH5 Medium AI leverageRH5.1/Matrix-M gave 55% protection against clinical malaria in children with a delayed third dose, but 40% (not significant) with monthly doses. Phase 3 and schedule are open.
- How long protection lasts Medium AI leverageAntibody levels and protection from RTS,S and R21 wane after the primary series, and boosters restore them only partly. The best booster schedule is unsettled.
- Antibody injections against malaria Medium AI leverageOne subcutaneous L9LS antibody dose cut infection by 66-70% in Malian children over a season. Longer protection, younger ages and lower cost are open.
- Vaccines that stop transmission Medium AI leveragePfs230-based vaccines aim to stop mosquitoes passing malaria on. A lab assay can now predict blocking activity from serum; the effect on real spread is still to be shown.
Where AI could help
Low AI leverage. Machine learning can rank new vaccine antigens, but trials, funding and delivery to millions of children set the pace.
- Rank antigens for next-generation blood-stage and transmission-blocking vaccines
- Predict immune signatures of protection from trial data
- Forecast malaria seasons to time seasonal dosing
- Plan stock and delivery for more than 10 million children a year
Shown so far
- In 2024 a positive-unlabeled random forest scored 5,393 Plasmodium falciparum proteins on 272 features and ranked 200 top candidate antigens, without experimental validation. source
Prerequisites
- Vaccination1796
- World Health Organization1948WHO's recommendation and prequalification opened the way to rollout in African countries
- Genetic engineering1973RTS,S and R21 are recombinant protein vaccines made with genetic engineering