The National Primary Health Care Development Agency has announced that free malaria vaccines are now available at primary healthcare centres in Kebbi and Bayelsa States for children aged between five and 11 months.
The Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Friday in Abuja to mark the 2025 World Malaria Day.
Aina urged parents and caregivers to take full advantage of the life-saving opportunity.
“The vaccine is part of the Federal Government’s commitment to reduce malaria-related deaths, especially among children under five.
“The malaria vaccine is now available and being administered free of charge in Kebbi and Bayelsa. It is safe, effective, and a critical addition to our malaria prevention toolkit,” he said.
He explained that the R21/Matrix-M vaccine has been integrated into the routine immunisation schedules in the two states, making Nigeria one of the first African countries to roll out the malaria vaccine at scale.
According to him, the initial phase targets more than 1.5 million children, with trained healthcare workers delivering the vaccines at both fixed and outreach points.
As Nigeria continues to bear the highest burden of malaria globally, Aina described the vaccine rollout as a major milestone in the nation’s quest to drastically reduce cases and fatalities from the disease.
“This World Malaria Day, we’re calling on communities, caregivers, and stakeholders to support the campaign. No child should die from a preventable disease like malaria.
“The vaccine has undergone rigorous safety and efficacy evaluations,” he added, encouraging widespread participation to safeguard the future generation from malaria.
The 2025 World Malaria Day is themed “Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite”, and serves as a rallying cry to intensify the fight against one of Nigeria’s deadliest public health threats.
According to the World Health Organisation, Nigeria accounts for 27 per cent of the global malaria burden and 32 per cent of global deaths. In 2023 alone, an estimated 68 million Nigerians were infected, resulting in over 200,000 deaths—mostly among children under five and pregnant women.
Beyond its devastating human cost, malaria imposes a staggering economic burden, draining Nigeria of over N132 billion annually, with treatment costs continuing to rise, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
