The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development (EAPD) are co-hosting a symposium to support the advancement of vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa.

Building regional capacity has become a critical priority amid the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the World Health Assembly to pass a resolution last year calling for the strengthening of local production of medicines and other health technologies. Additionally, the African Union and Africa CDC launched the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing framework to expand Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity for health security.

We will review the challenges and opportunities for vaccine manufacturing in Africa and present practical guidance and lessons learned from building vaccine manufacturing capacity in resource-limited settings. A panel discussion featuring experts from global health funding agencies, vaccine R&D institutes, and developing country vaccine manufacturers will explore the pathway to building a sustainable business model for African vaccine manufacturers.

The webinar will be in English with simultaneous interpretation in Arabic and French, and will be moderated by Dr. Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Senior Research Scientist, IVI.

Welcome and congratulatory remarks

• Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General, IVI
• Amb. Mohamed Khalil, Secretary General, EAPD
• Lee Kang-ho, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea and Chief of the Health Ministry’s Global Vaccine Hub Office

Review of the challenges and opportunities for vaccine manufacturing in Africa

• Dr. Nicaise Ndembi, Senior Science Adviser, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Presentations: Processes and challenges of vaccine R&D, manufacturing, and licensure

• Processes of vaccine technical transfer
  Dr. Ravi Ganapathy, Director CMC R&D, Hilleman Laboratories Singapore
• Clinical research in resource-limited settings
  Dr. Tarun Saluja, Research Scientist, IVI
• Importance of securing WHO classification of National Regulatory Authorities as “Functional NRAs”
  Ms. Delese Mimi Darko, Chief Executive Officer, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana
• Epidemiology and health economics
  Dr. Kaja Abbas, Assistant Professor of Disease Modelling, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Panel discussion: A business model for sustainability

Moderated by Dr. Youngmee Jee, Chief Executive Officer, Institut Pasteur Korea

• Dr. Duncan Steele, Deputy Director, Global Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Dr. Nakorn Premsri, Director, National Vaccine Institute, Thailand
• Prof. Agnès Buzyn, Executive Director, World Health Organization Academy
• Mr. Patrick Tippoo, Head of Science and Innovation, Biovac Institute, South Africa and Founding Member of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative

Closing remarks

• Dr. Heba Wali, VACSERA Chairman, Egyptian Holding Company of Biological Products and Vaccines