PARIS – UNITAID is to work with partners to see how it can best support the pilot implementation of a malaria vaccine that could have a significant impact on global health.

Meeting in Paris on 22-23 June, the Board decided that any investment in piloting the RTS,S vaccine represented a strategic fit with UNITAID’s mandate.

UNITAID can now work on a detailed proposal for UNITAID to co-fund a pilot implementation program for the RTS,S vaccine with the WHO and other funding partners , such as GAVI and the Global Fund, which can then be put to the Board for approval in the coming months.

RTS,S is a vaccine against the deadly plasmodium falciparum parasite that is the most prevalent in Africa. The vaccine has been developed to prevent malaria in young children in parts of sub-Saharan Africa where the disease is endemic. Most malaria deaths occur among young children.

Based on mathematical modelling of the impact of RTS,S, it is estimated that approximately one life would be saved for every 200 who are fully vaccinated. The vaccine has been developed in a partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and PATH  with support from the Gates Foundation.

Two of WHO’s advisory bodies have jointly recommended that RTS,S should be evaluated through pilot implementations before its more widespread introduction could be considered.

The Board said that, in keeping with its mandate, UNITAID could propose that it fund research costs associated with the first phase of the pilot implementation program.