With a $170 million deal, UNICEF will acquire 18 million malaria vaccines from GSK, a global pharmaceutical company based in London.
GSK is the only drugmaker with an approved malaria vaccine, called Mosquirix. Since its approval, Mosquirix was deployed in 2019 to three African countries in a primary phase with plans to expand the vaccine's access to more sub-Saharan countries.
The UNICEF Aug. 16 deal, which covers supply for the next three years, has the potential to save thousands of lives every year, according to the humanitarian organization. In 2020, a child in Africa died at a rate of every minute from malaria, according to UNICEF.
"This vaccine rollout gives a clear message to malaria vaccine developers to continue their work because malaria vaccines are needed and wanted," Etleva Kadilli, the director of UNICEF's supply division, said in a news release. "We hope this is just the beginning."