Project description
A community-led approach to seasonal malaria protection
Seasonal malaria transmission requires innovative delivery strategies to ensure no child is left behind. In the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, scaling up malaria vaccination requires a deep understanding of local feasibility and social acceptance. The EU-funded IMVACS project addresses this by comparing age-based routine immunisation with a community-based, seasonal campaign strategy. Focusing on Burkina Faso and Mali, the project is carrying out a trial to assess the R21/Matrix-M vaccine’s real-life impact and cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective. By leveraging existing malaria prevention platforms, IMVACS aims to overcome vaccine hesitancy and reach the most vulnerable ‘zero-dose’ children. The project evaluates feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and real-world impact, providing policymakers with an evidence-based blueprint to strengthen primary healthcare and save lives across malaria-endemic regions.
Objective
Despite available efficacy data on two malaria vaccines designed for broad use, there is little evidence about scalable delivery strategies in areas with seasonal malaria transmission. We propose a multi-site, multi-disciplinary Phase IV cluster-randomized trial in Burkina Faso and Mali to evaluate the effectiveness, real-life impact, acceptability, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of a novel integrated delivery strategy of R21/Matrix-M in areas with highly seasonal malaria transmission.We will compare campaign-style vaccination co-administered during Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention to vaccination following an age-based strategy in routine Essential Programme on Immunisation activities using a non-inferiority design. We will engage with all stakeholders to co-design the integrated strategy, collect malaria incidence data via surveillance and prevalence via cross-sectional surveys, generate data on coverage, assess feasibility and acceptability among stakeholders and end-users using qualitative longitudinal study methods, and describe the cost-effectiveness of both approaches, with costs and outcomes measured from the societal perspective. We will also use the trial platform to perform post-licensure pharmacovigilance of R21/Matrix-M. The project will ensure translation of results into policy and practice throughout areas of highly seasonal malaria transmission. It responds to SDG3, and is aligned with the Immunization Agenda 2030, particularly by testing a community-based vaccine approach that should reduce the number of “zero-dose” children. By leveraging the SMC platform, we hope to mitigate vaccine hesitancy.
Our multi-disciplinary approach aims to generate a comprehensive package of evidence that will allow policymakers to make informed guidelines for malaria vaccine schedules and delivery in the Sahel, at the same time reinforcing health systems and promoting synergies between malaria and vaccination programs in support of the Primary Health Care agenda.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases parasitic diseases malaria
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunisation
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.1 - Health
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-JU-GH-EDCTP3-2023-02-two-stage
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
73024 MAGLIE
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.