Following the initial launch of the NTP approach in Kongo Central, PATH has expanded the strategy to 20 health zones across five provinces: Kongo Central, Kwilu, Equateur, Tshopo, and Maniema. In total, more than 280 partner entities have participated in NTP co-creation workshops across the country, and more than 100 are currently implementing activities to promote malaria vaccine uptake.
In Kongo Central, the strategy is among the interventions that have contributed to promising results: in the first two months after implementation, the dropout rate for the first three malaria vaccine doses fell from 14 percent to 7 percent.
In these initial implementation areas, coverage of the second and third doses exceeded national targets in the first quarter of 2025. Results vary across provinces, but early trends suggest that locally led engagement, combined with effective health worker communication with caregivers and other strategies, can help reduce dropouts between doses.