Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) Expanded To 51 Additional Districts Accross Seven Regions

February 30, 2023 | News | Reading time: 3 min

The Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme has been expanded from 42 to 51 additional districts across seven regions specifically; Ahafo, Bono, Bono East, Central, Oti, Upper East and Volta regions. The Government of Ghana launched the expansion of the national Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme on February 20, 2023 at Sunyani under the theme “malaria vaccine for additional protection”.

The Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) was launched in May 2019 in 42 districts across seven regions. The expansion to 51 districts in the seven regions of Ghana will see the delivery of the malaria vaccine to more children in order to save thousands of lives.

The expansion is based on the recommendation of the National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NITAG), following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation for broader use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine in areas with moderate to high malaria transmission

As part of the launch, Dr Francis Kasolo, WHO Country Representative noted that about 1.5 million doses of the vaccine have been administered to eligible children across the 42 districts in Ghana with over 400,000 children receiving at least one dose and over 170,000 children completing all 4 doses. He seized the opportunity to express his appreciation to the Kintampo Health Research Centre for its contribution towards the malaria vaccine’s success

The MVIP is being implemented in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. The Malaria vaccine is given to children in four doses, starting from six months, then seven months, nine months and 18 months.

The launch was attended by Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, Minister of Health, Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye, Director General of Ghana Health Service, Dr Asiedu Bekoe, Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Service, and other key stakeholders. KHRC was represented by Dr Thomas Gyan and Dr David Dosoo.