The world’s first-ever mass vaccination against malaria has been brought a step closer as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance opened a process for countries to apply for funding and support to roll out the new vaccine.

The opening of the application window follows the WHO’s recommendation for wider routine use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in October 2021 and a subsequent decision by the Gavi Board in December 2021 to approve an initial investment of $ 155.7 million for the 2022–2025 period.

Malaria vaccination was additionally supported by a $56 million investment through a “de-risk” agreement with manufacturer GSK and innovative financing partner MedAccess.

In recognition of the technical requirements of rollout and the need to provide tailored support to countries, a first application window, which closes 13 September, will be limited to the three countries that have taken part in the vaccine’s multi-year pilot programme: Kenya, Ghana and Malawi.

A second window, which opens at the end of the year and closes in January, is open to other countries with moderate to high transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. These countries can already submit expressions of interest (EoIs) during the first funding window to signal interest and provide them with the needed support to submit quality applications.