UNICEF, Gavi deal slashes malaria vaccine price to $2.99 per dose

The R21 malaria vaccine is about to get cheaper, thanks to a new deal between UNICEF and the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, with financial backing from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Under the agreement, the vaccine’s price will come down to $2.99 from $3.90 per dose. According to Gavi, the deal was made possible by utilizing funding from the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, or IFFIm, an innovative financial instrument that raises funding for Gavi’s child immunization work through the issuance of vaccine bonds on capital markets. The lower vaccine pricing is expected to take effect toward the end of 2026, or early 2027, Dr. Scott Gordon, Gavi’s malaria program head, told Devex. Gavi anticipates the new price to generate savings of up to $90 million, allowing room to purchase an additional 30 million doses of the malaria vaccine to vaccinate nearly 7 million more children over the next five years. R21 is one of the two malaria vaccines prequalified by WHO. Children are meant to get four doses — and in places where malaria transmission is high, a fifth dose may be added. Gordon said more than 10 million children have been vaccinated in the 24 countries that have rolled out malaria vaccines to date. But data on the number of children fully vaccinated against malaria is not yet available, with most countries having just started providing the fourth dose this year. “However, we are seeing early evidence of the impact already because a few countries that were part of the malaria vaccine pilot have been delivering the vaccine for more than 5 years. So we know that the vaccine is saving lives and reducing hospitalisations in line with what study data showed us,” he said. Why is this important? Malaria vaccines are seen as a key tool in the fight against malaria, which affects millions of people, including children. In 2023, malaria caused the deaths of nearly 600,000 people in the African region, 76% of whom were children under the age of 5 years old, according to the World Health Organization. Preventing a case of malaria helps save families in the region from incurring high hospitalization costs, which can exceed $70 for severe cases. Gavi expects more countries to start using malaria vaccines in the coming year. One example: Guinea-Bissau, which Gordon said plans to introduce the malaria vaccine RTS,S — the other malaria vaccine prequalified by WHO — in January 2026. “New vaccine introductions take years of planning and prioritisation, with countries picking the right timing to ensure an effective introduction. This means that of the countries that have expressed interest, many have introduced, some are nearing the end of planning and will introduce soon, while others are still preparing plans to apply for support to start a malaria vaccine programme,” he said.