As part of a new initiative from Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, up to $1bn will be made available to boost African vaccine manufacturing – to tackle the inequality in vaccine access and to use domestically-produced shots to combat the diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of African children every year.
Reuters reports that the African Union (AU) has set a target to supply more than 60% of the total vaccine doses required in Africa by 2040, up from around 1% now.
The funding for the accelerator comes from leftover money in the Covax initiative, established during the pandemic to help vaccines reach the world’s poorest countries.
It has been approved by Gavi’s board after consultation with the AU, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other partners. The scheme is due to launch in June 2024 at an event hosted by the Africa CDC and France.
Also approved are plans for around $290m to help “catch up” routine paediatric immunisations, which were disrupted by the pandemic, as well as a $500m “first response” fund, to ensure money is available immediately when a new pandemic hits.
How it works
The African accelerator will pay manufacturers a sum when their vaccines are approved by the WHO, and then another payment if companies win bids to supply vaccines through Gavi, which co-finances purchases with low-income countries.
This will allow manufacturers to price products competitively so that African countries can choose African-made vaccines for the price of products made elsewhere.
Reuters article – New $1 billion plan for African vaccine manufacturing -GAVI Alliance (Open access)
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