WHO has been leading efforts to introduce the RTS, S vaccine in African countries with high malaria burden. In 2019, the vaccine was introduced in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi as part of a pilot program to assess its effectiveness and safety in real-world settings. Following the WHO recommendation for broader use of the malaria vaccine in moderate to high Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission areas, issued in October 2021, the WHO has supported Ghana and Malawi to expand the vaccine administration in comparator areas. By the end of March 2023, 1.5 million children with RTS, S, and more than 4.1 million doses had been administered since the initial launch in 2019. Malawi launched expansion of RTS, S on 29 November 2022. It was followed by Ghana, which launched the expansion on 20 February 2023. Kenya launched the expansion on 7 March 2023. At least 28 countries in Africa have expressed interest in introducing the vaccine, with some additional countries to start in early 2024. The unprecedented demand for the first malaria vaccine is considered an opportunity to bring children back to clinics to catch up on missed vaccines and child health interventions – including reinforcing the need for children to sleep under ITNs every night. WHO has also been working with African countries to scale up other proven malaria control interventions, such as insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying, intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnant women, seasonal malaria chemoprevention, perennial malaria chemoprevention in young children as well as prompt diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases.