Peer-reviewed article
Uptake of malaria vaccine (RTS,S/AS01) among children aged 6-24 months: A cross-sectional survey conducted in the Western region of Cameroon, 1 year following the vaccine introduction.
Jerome Ateudjieu, Merveille Claire Nana Djapou, Benjamin Kevin Bekoa Onana, Abdias Aron Tatsabong Tiomeni, Gretta Ludivine Okoumokath Mpande et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study evaluated uptake of the malaria vaccine (RTS,S/AS01) among children aged 6-24 months in two health districts in Western Cameroon, one year after its introduction into the national vaccination programme. Researchers surveyed 399 children and their caregivers using a cross-sectional design. Vaccination coverage was low: only 31% received the first dose, 23% the second dose, and 18% the third dose, with just over half of those who started completing all three doses. Parental perception of the vaccine was a strong predictor of vaccination uptake and timeliness. The study concludes that coverage is too low for the vaccine to significantly reduce malaria in children, and recommends better communication to improve caregiver attitudes.
Key points
- First dose coverage was 31.20%, second dose 22.61%, and third dose 17.70%
- Among children who received dose 1, only 56.49% completed the full 3-dose schedule
- Timeliness of vaccine administration was between 50-57% across the three doses
- Parental perception was significantly associated with vaccine uptake (aOR 15.54, p<0.001) and dose completion
- Current coverage levels are considered below expectations for meaningful impact on malaria morbidity
Limitations
This study captures uptake at one specific time point (one year post-introduction) in only two health districts, so findings may not represent national coverage or be generalizable to other regions of Cameroon or elsewhere. The study does not evaluate whether low uptake translates to actual malaria outcomes in the population.
Abstract
Malaria vaccination using RTS,S/AS01 was introduced as part of Cameroon's EPI to prevent malaria morbidity and mortality among children aged 6-24 months. This study aims to assess the coverage, completeness, and timeliness of this vaccine and to explore parental perceptions of children's access to vaccination. This was a community-based, descriptive cross-sectional study targeting children aged 6-24 months and caregivers, selected by stratified random cluster sampling in Foumbot and Foumban health districts. Data were collected from caregivers by trained and supervised enumerators using a pretested questionnaire administered face-to-face. Malaria vaccine coverage, completeness, and timeliness were estimated with 95% confidence intervals. The contribution of caregivers' perception on the first dose malaria vaccination status was explored by estimating crude odds ratio (cOR) and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) estimated from mixed-effects logistic regression. Of the 55 targeted and reached clusters, 399 children were included in this study. Vaccination coverage of first, second, and third doses of the malaria vaccine was 31.20% (95%CI 30.38 - 32.02), 22.61% (95%CI 21.85 - 23.37), and 17.70% (95%CI 16.88 - 18.52), respectively. Among the children who received the first dose, 56.49% (95%CI 44.61 - 68.37) completed the 3-dose schedule. The timeliness of the three administered doses was between 50-57%. In multivariate analysis, parental perception remained significantly associated with dose 1 malaria administration (aOR 15.54 (95%CI 12.63 - 19.10) p < 0.001), dose 1 timeliness (aOR 2.36 (95%CI 1.52 - 3.65) p < 0.001) and dose 2 completeness (aOR 9.81 (95%CI 7.78 - 12.36) p < 0.001). More than a year after the malaria vaccine introduction in the health districts of Foumbot and Foumban, the performance indicators for this vaccination are below expectations for the vaccine to have a significant impact on reducing malaria morbidity in children. Communicating to positively influence caregivers' perceptions of malaria vaccination is expected to contribute to improving the situation.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Introduction of RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine into the national Extended Programme on Immunisation (EPI) for children aged 6-24 months
- Population
- Children aged 6-24 months in Foumbot and Foumban health districts, Western Cameroon
Key finding
First dose coverage 31.20% (95% CI 30.38-32.02)
Ateudjieu et al. · PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) · 13 Feb 2026