Researching whether pairing malaria vaccination with nutritional supplementation improves vaccine uptake and reduces malnutrition in children in Cameroon.
We partnered with the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) on a three-year grant to test whether pairing malaria vaccination with a nutritional supplement can increase vaccine uptake and reduce malnutrition in children in Cameroon.
Grant Description
In Cameroon's Far North region, malaria and acute malnutrition often overlap during early childhood, compounding risks to health, development, and survival. ALIMA’s project will evaluate whether combining delivery of the malaria vaccine with a proven nutritional supplement can increase vaccine uptake and reduce malnutrition. Implemented in partnership with local health systems, this work is expected to generate evidence on feasibility and cost-effectiveness in contexts where malaria and malnutrition overlap during early childhood.
With support from this grant, ALIMA will run a cluster-randomized trial in Mokolo district testing whether providing a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement (SQ-LNS) alongside the malaria vaccine increases uptake of its later doses and reduces malnutrition, compared to vaccination alone. The trial is expected to reach roughly 10,000 children.
This grant was made based in part on the strength of the evidence base, the opportunity to test a promising but largely untested approach to vaccine uptake, and ALIMA's track record of rigorous research in difficult settings.
SQ-LNS has strong evidence behind it for reducing child mortality and malnutrition, and global nutrition agencies have called for its wider use. Pairing it with vaccination to drive uptake is largely untested, as most existing evidence on boosting vaccination rates relies on reminders or cash incentives, not food. ALIMA is running a similar trial pairing SQ-LNS with measles vaccination in Nigeria and has worked in this region of Cameroon for over seven years.