Abuja, Oct 18 : In a historic step in the fight against the deadly disease that has killed thousands of children under the age of five in Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria has rolled out a new malaria vaccine that will be given free of cost.

Nigerian Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, on Thursday said that 846,200 doses of the vaccine have been procured in partnership with global vaccine group Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Some 153,800 more doses are expected for delivery before the end of this month, totalling 1 million doses of the vaccine, he added.

The new R21 vaccine was developed by scientists at Oxford University and made by the Serum Institute of India and Novavax, Xinhua news agency reported.

Pate said ahead of the national rollout, the first phase of the vaccine's rollout will begin next month in Kebbi and Bayelsa, where malaria prevalence has been particularly high. It will be administered as part of the West African country's routine immunisation schedule for children under one year of age, with over 800,000 doses set to be distributed during this phase.

"The arrival of the malaria vaccine is a monumental step in our national efforts to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality," the health minister told reporters.

Nigeria is the third African country to roll out the vaccine following its launch in Ghana and Kenya last year. According to data from UNICEF, Nigeria carries the highest burden of malaria globally, accounting for approximately 27 per cent of the global malaria burden and 31 per cent of global malaria deaths.

Nearly 200,000 deaths from malaria occurred in Nigeria last year, the UNICEF said, citing the 2023 World Malaria Report. Children under five and pregnant women are the most affected, with a national malaria prevalence rate of 22 per cent in children aged 6-59 months as of 2021.

/IANS