Vaccines for Africa, made in Africa, through end-to-end vaccine research and development projects: a side event co-hosted by IVI, Kenya, Africa CDC
Vaccines are one of the most important tools in the global health toolkit. They boost economies, increase learning and job opportunities, close gaps in equity, and, above all, vaccines save lives. When COVID-19 brought the world to a halt, the international science community accelerated research and innovative partnerships charted a new course for vaccine development. But these advancements didn’t serve everyone equally. In fact, the pandemic revealed disparities in vaccine access that have always been there, and exacerbated them.
Today, only 1% of the vaccines needed in Africa are produced in Africa. This lack of manufacturing capacity necessitates a reliance on external aid to protect African populations from outbreaks as well as endemic diseases that cast a persistent burden on communities. In pandemic situations, inequitable distribution of vaccines only hampers efforts to beat a globally circulating virus.
A call to action for sustainable vaccine manufacturing in Africa was at the heart of our discussions during a side event at the margins of the 37th African Union Summit on February 18, 2024. IVI, the Government of Kenya, and Africa CDC co-hosted this key gathering of heads of state and other government officials, public health experts, pharmaceutical industry leaders, and international partners to advocate for end-to-end vaccine research and development projects as the foundation of an integrated African vaccine ecosystem.
“Africa needs to take steps to build a holistic ecosystem to support R&D, clinical trials, manufacturing, distribution, and delivery. Africa needs to sustain support for regulation and other frameworks and the building of human capacity to drive forward vaccine manufacturing.”
Over 150 participants from more than 30 countries registered for the event, and four Heads of State attended:
- E. Dr. William Ruto, President of Kenya
- E. Mohamed al-Menfi, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya
- E. Brahim Ghali, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Ahmed Hachani, Prime Minister of Tunisia
Session 1 of the breakfast event featured remarks and keynote speeches from the heads of state and leaders of the three co-hosting partners, including a presentation from IVI’s Director General Dr. Jerome Kim, who highlighted the aims and functions of IVI’s Advancing Vaccine End-to-End Capabilities in Africa (AVEC Africa) initiative.
Through AVEC Africa, IVI will work with partners—and facilitate new partnerships—across the full spectrum of the vaccine value chain to close gaps in epidemiology; laboratory R&D; vaccine development; registration; manufacturing; and vaccine access, uptake, delivery, and assessment. The initiative fundamentally emphasizes training, capacity- and infrastructure-building, and collaboration to realize continental goals—such as the ones established by the Africa CDC and Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM). The AVEC Africa project will be based in a new IVI Country and Project Office in Nairobi, set to open this year.
“The discussion today emphasizes the need for an approach that not only takes the tremendous work that the leadership of PAVM, African Union, and individual national governments have done to ensure that Africa is not in a position it was in at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We see throughout the continent efforts to strengthen and reinforce different aspects of vaccine manufacturing and development. We are going to look forward to this meeting as a way to remember we determined a boldness of vision, a firmness of commitment, and an impact of success.”
Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa CDC, proclaimed that local manufacturing will herald the second independence of Africa. He assured that the Africa CDC is leveraging all available mechanisms on the continent to meet an ambitious goal of manufacturing 60% of Africa’s vaccine needs by 2040, including:
- Establishment of the Pooled Procurement Mechanism spearheaded by Africa CDC for medical products from African manufacturers;
- Broadening of the PAVM mandate to include manufacturing of medicines and diagnostics;
- Appointment of President Ruto as the African Union Champion for local manufacturing
In Session 2, IVI’s Europe Regional Director Dr. Anh Wartel set the stage for discussions around the ongoing work across the different pillars of the African vaccine manufacturing ecosystem. To begin, Dr. Abebe Genetu, Acting PAVM Coordinator, presented an overall progress report on PAVM’s strategy and aims, emphasizing a focus on nurturing health markets for locally produced vaccines, securing sustainable production of quality products, supporting capacity-building, and driving research and development.
Dr. Wartel then moderated a panel discussion centering stakeholder collaboration and coordination, featuring expert speakers:
- William Ampofo, Executive Director, African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative / CEO, National Vaccine Institute, Ghana
- Michael Lusiola, CEO/Director-General, Kenya BioVax Institute
- Afework Kassu Gizaw, Director General, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ethiopia
- Edwin Nkansah, Vaccine, Vigilance and Clinical Trials Directorate, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana
Read and download the full meeting report here, which highlights the key takeaways from each speech and presentation as well as a summary of the necessary resources and actions to realize the collective goal for end-to-end vaccine research and development projects in Africa.
Dr. Kim and Hon. Susan Nakhumicha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, closed the meeting with gratitude for the co-hosting organizations and speakers, and reaffirmed commitments to create a way forward for African vaccine security that is intrinsically African.
by Aerie Em
Lasted updated March 26, 2024
