Global leaders committed to a R20bn initiative for local vaccine production in Africa at the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator launch in Paris. (NickyLloyd/Getty Images)
- World leaders have pledged R20 billion over 10 years for the manufacture of vaccines in Africa.
- The African Union aims to produce more than 60% of the vaccines the continent needs by 2040.
- Rwanda President Paul Kagame said through AI, the continent could achieve this milestone.
Global leaders met in Paris on Thursday to launch the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), with promises to raise some R20 billion to support African vaccine manufacturers.
If successful, the fund would be central in the African Union’s (AU) target of manufacturing at least 60% of vaccines the continent needs at home.
That effort came after African countries struggled to find enough vaccine doses during the Covid-19 pandemic, as vaccine nationalism set in among richer countries.
Speaking at the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation in Paris, European Union (EU) commissioner Jutta Urpilainen said the world had learned from that time.
“We soon realised that in addition to dealing with the acute crisis, it would be vital to boost Africa’s health resilience in the longer term.
“We made it our mission to support African efforts to manufacture health products on their continent,” she added.
Africa currently produces 0.2% of vaccine doses, while it has 20% of the world’s population and some of the highest communicable disease burdens anywhere.
Through the AVMA, world leaders said they would incentivise vaccine manufacturers to create facilities in Africa.
The EU pledged to fund about 75% of the purse, a while some R4.1 billion will be drawn from the continental bloc’s budget.
The move was welcomed by African leaders.
In his opening remarks, AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat referred to an “intolerable situation”, and the strength of unity to change it.
New kid on the bloc, Senegal’s president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, said pandemics, “had above all highlighted the structural disparities that already existed, between developed and developing countries, in terms of vaccinations”.
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That is why in Senegal, last year, the Institut Pasteur de Dakar and Mastercard Foundation initiated a R900 million vaccine plant.
Another African country touted to become a vaccine manufacturing centre alongside Senegal is Rwanda.
Speaking at the same forum, President Paul Kagame said Africa should capitalise on AI to address its vaccine needs.
“The more ambitious objective we should aim for is to create new vaccines and therapies that target Africa’s disease burden, using the latest technology platforms.
“Almost all new vaccine and drug discoveries are taking place using these platforms, increasingly with AI applications.
“These products should be invented, perfected, and produced in Africa, in an affordable manner, working with our global partners,” Kagame said.
Early this year, numerous African countries were plagued by cholera outbreaks, amid a dire shortage of vaccines.
With climate change, fewer clean water sources, and poor infrastructure in Africa, cholera is expected to remain a major crisis for years to come.
Some 4.9 million children die from preventable diseases every year, most of them in Africa.The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
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Publish date : 2024-06-21 09:04:24