Prof. Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, asserted on Thursday that the Vaccine Alliance, a global body, has pledged to give Nigeria priority in the long-term distribution of the malaria vaccines.

The Minister made this known during Gavi’s visit to the Primary Healthcare Centre in New Karu, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa.

He said, “Malaria is a very important disease that we should tackle, just like we tackled polio.

“Gavi just told us that they will prioritise Nigeria in the rollout of the new malaria vaccine over time. That does not mean no more nets, that does not mean no treatment, but at least we have additional tools in the fight against malaria.”

The minister remarked that the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the State Government, and development partners had invested a lot, with excellent outcomes in getting the youngsters access to life-saving immunisations.

However, he pointed out that many children were still missing, and that it was important to make sure they were immunised.

Nigeria was not included in the original list of 12 African nations that would receive the first-ever RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine from 2023 to 2025, which was announced earlier in July.

The RTS,S/AS01 vaccine is the first vaccine recommended for use by the World Health Organisation to prevent malaria in children in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission.