Burundi is expected to roll out its first malaria vaccination programme in July after it receives half a million doses, the USAid malaria advisor Dr Louise Mahan said Thursday.
The announcement was made during a visit by the United States Global Malaria Coordinator Dr David Walton in Burundi, one of the countries in the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).
“The Ministry of Health and the Malaria Strategic Plan are planning to initiate the vaccination in July this year…we now have a new partnership with Burundi between the National Malaria Strategic Plan and the vaccine programme which will allow us together to effectively distribute the vaccine,” said Dr Walton.
According to the 2023 World Malaria Report, Burundi was among the three countries worldwide that experienced a significant increase in malaria incidence between 2015 and 2022, with a rise of up to 31 percent.
Malaria had an incidence rate of 537 per 1,000 people in Burundi last year, according to the World Health Organisation.
Since 2010, the US through USAid has invested $127 million in malaria control in Burundi, focusing on vector control, prevention, case management, social behavior change, and commodity procurement.
