Respiratory infections remain one of the main causes of illness and death among newborns in sub-Saharan Africa. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a major contributor to severe disease in the first months of life, and new maternal vaccines offer an important opportunity to protect infants from birth. However, in many African settings, maternal health conditions such as malaria, HIV, undernutrition, and other infections may reduce the transfer of protective antibodies from mother to child, potentially limiting the impact of vaccination.

For this reason, we have submitted the project proposal OPTIMAL-RSV Africa under the call HORIZON-JU-GH-EDCTP3-2026-01-two-stage – Global collaboration action for prevention and treatment of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTIs) in sub-Saharan Africa.

FIGURE 1. OPTIMAL-RSV Africa project logo

The project aims to support the safe and effective introduction of maternal RSV vaccination in sub-Saharan Africa by generating evidence from real-world African settings. Around 6,000 mothers and newborns in Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi will take part in the study, helping researchers understand how maternal health, nutrition, infections, and living conditions influence the protection that infants receive at birth.

The results will help identify newborns who may remain at higher risk despite vaccination and will support the development of additional prevention strategies, stronger follow-up systems, and better vaccination policies adapted to African contexts. The project also works closely with Ministries of Health and national immunization programmes to ensure that the evidence produced can directly inform future public health decisions.

OPTIMAL-RSV Africa is coordinated by R-Evolution Worldwide and is carried out in partnership with the Kenya Medical Research Institute, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, the University of Oxford, and Makerere University. Together, the consortium brings long-standing experience in maternal and child health, infectious diseases, and community-based research in Africa.

Through this collaboration, the project aims to contribute to fair access to new vaccines and to reduce preventable deaths among newborns in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Figure 2. Partners involved in the consortium