Ivory Coast has received the country's first malaria vaccine this week, a disease that causes four deaths per day in the country.
In total, more than 656,000 doses have been received, which will initially be used to "vaccinate 250,000 children between 0 and 23 months old" in 16 regions, according to the government.
Although the number of deaths related to malaria has decreased in the country, the disease is still the main reason why people contact healthcare, according to the country's health department.
The R21/Matrix-M vaccine is the second malaria vaccine recommended by WHO for children.
In 2022, malaria caused more than 600,000 deaths worldwide, of which 95 percent were in Africa, according to WHO.