February 28, 2024, SEOUL, Republic of Korea – The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health, announced today that it will open a Country and Project Office in Kenya dedicated to the operations of its Advancing Vaccine End-to-End Capabilities (AVEC) initiative in Africa as well as other collaborations with Kenyan partners such as Kenya BioVax Institute across vaccine research, development, and training.
AVEC Africa is an accelerator of the regional vaccine ecosystem through the implementation of end-to-end research and development projects in Africa. The grassroots model activates public-private partnerships to drive projects based on local and regional need while promoting hands-on training and experience to develop the products, people, policy, and infrastructure needed to power an integrated and sustainable vaccine ecosystem in Africa. The IVI Board of Trustees (BOT) approved the decision to pursue AVEC Africa as part of a regional strategy and to establish a Country and Project Office in Kenya to oversee the initiative during an Executive Committee meeting this month.
IVI officially introduced the AVEC Africa concept during an event on the sidelines of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on February 18, 2024, co-hosted by IVI, the Government of Kenya, and Africa CDC. AVEC Africa has already received strong political endorsement from several African Heads of State, including H.E. Dr. William Ruto, President of Kenya. In November 2022, IVI signed a Memorandum of Understanding including a Joint Action Plan with the Africa CDC to collaborate on strengthening the African vaccine end-to-end ecosystem, and IVI is closely collaborating with the agency’s Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) program to help achieve its objective of manufacturing 60 percent of the continent’s vaccine needs locally by 2040.
Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of AVEC Africa with a Country and Project Office in Kenya. With the strong support of the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Health and its agencies including Kenya BioVax Institute and Kenya Medical Research Institute, AVEC Africa imagines a whole-of-continent approach aligned with the vaccine manufacturing goals of the Africa CDC and African Union. Leveraging IVI’s expertise and networks across Africa, the initiative aims to link and strengthen capacities across existing organizations working along the full spectrum of the vaccine value chain. Through collaborations with research centers and universities, manufacturers, clinical trial sites, government, and regional governing bodies, AVEC Africa aims to not only synchronize the essential cogs of a well-running vaccine industry, but to give it its engine.”
Dr. Michael Lusiola, the MD/CEO, Kenya BioVax Institute, said: “The setting up of the IVI AVEC Project Office in Kenya will go a long way in supporting the establishment of local vaccine manufacturing capabilities here at BioVax. In addition, the collaboration envisaged between the IVI AVEC Office in Kenya, whose focus will be on the vaccine R&D activities across the continent, and the IVI Regional Office in Rwanda, will ensure a coordinated effort towards achieving the Africa CDC’s targets of vaccine self-sufficiency by the year 2040.”
The Country and Project Office in Kenya will manage the implementation of the AVEC Africa initiative and its project portfolio. The Global Council, a representative body composed of IVI’s State Parties, welcomed this expansion as well as the AVEC Africa concept (previously referred to as the African Vaccine Alliance model), as outlined in a joint statement for stronger global vaccine ecosystems. The Global Council encourages IVI’s leadership, governments around the world, and partners to support this critical initiative.
