In world first, Nigeria introduces new 5-in-1 vaccine against meningitis.

12 APRIL 2024 – In a historic move, Nigeria has become the first country in the world to roll out a new vaccine (called Men5CV) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which protects people against five strains of the meningococcus bacteria. The vaccine and emergency vaccination activities are funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which funds the global meningitis vaccine stockpile, and supports lower-income countries with routine vaccination against meningitis.

Nigeria is one of the 26 meningitis hyper-endemic countries of Africa, situated in the area known as the African Meningitis Belt. Last year, there was a 50% jump in annual meningitis cases reported across Africa.

The road ahead for Africa’s vaccine manufacturing sector.

16 FEBRUARY 2024 – There’s a lot of interest in building Africa’s vaccine manufacturing sector. But how can it be sustained?
Partnerships have been key in producing the first messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine in Africa and getting the vaccine approved and into people’s arms will require a similar effort.

In January, the first mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa successfully produced an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. It was able to replicate Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine without the company’s assistance, by using publicly available information and support from international organizations and researchers in South Africa and from different parts of the globe.

What next for Africa’s revamped health institutions?

04 JANUARY 2024 – The African continent is working toward a “new public health order” — a vision to achieve greater independence from foreign entities for the population’s health needs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, African nations were at the back of the queue
for critical lifesaving supplies — notably vaccines. The devastation this brought pushed the continent’s leadership to reshuffle the public health architecture to work toward ensuring the health security of a population of over a billion people.

What is a sustainable vaccine manufacturing footprint for Africa?

6 DECEMBER 2023 – Given the inequities revealed through the COVID-19 pandemic, significant interest and funding have been directed at boosting vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa. However, this growth must be commercially sustainable and avoid excessive negative externalities on the wider vaccine ecosystem. A new white paper from the Clinton Health Access Initiative proposes a sustainable, balanced goal for African vaccine manufacturing capacity and highlights the most important funding and policy interventions to achieve it.

3 key interventions for growth in African vaccine manufacturing.

4 DECEMBER 2023 – Predictions for African vaccine manufacturing in 2024: The pace of progress will hinge on demand predictability, financial mobilization, and regulatory strengthening.

Following COVID-19, the need for local manufacturing capacity at scale to ensure equitable health outcomes is clear and well accepted, continentally and more broadly, with 2024 presenting a pivotal opportunity to continue this positive growth trajectory. As we stand on the cusp of 2024, the spotlight on African vaccine manufacturing has never been more intense.

A Groundbreaking Collaboration at IATF2023.

13 NOVEMBER 2023 – Announcing a groundbreaking collaboration at the #IATF2023, Afreximbank has inked a Project Preparation Facility Agreement with Innovative Biotech Limited. This venture aims to propel IBL to the forefront of healthcare innovation, marking a notable advancement in the industry.

Innovative Biotech Limited’s visionary project unfolds with the establishment of a state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing facility in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Operating under stringent Current Good Manufacturing Practice (“cGMP”) regulations, this facility is designed to produce a range of vaccines, from Typhoid and Rotavirus to Pentavalent/Hexavalent formulations. Future aspirations extend to the production of critical vaccines like Coronavirus 19 (“COVID-19”), HIV, Ebola, HPV, and Lassa, with an anticipated annual production capacity of an impressive 225 million doses.

 Africa CDC & Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance host the First Manufacturers Marketplace for Vaccine Manufacturing African Union Member States.

1 OCTOBER 2023 – Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco opened the First Manufacturers Marketplace for Vaccine Manufacturing African Union Member States. The meeting saw the participation of Ministers of Health or Representatives, Heads of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) of the 13 African Union (AU) Member states signatories of the Communiqué of the Video- Teleconference (VTC) Meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly of the AU Heads of State and Government extended to African Vaccine Manufacturing Countries held in May 2022, representatives from the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), stakeholders such as UNICEF, AfCFTA Secretariat and African vaccine manufacturers.

#UNGA78: How SA’s mRNA hub is teaching the world about preparing for the next pandemic.

20 SEPTEMBER 2023 – Political leaders gathering at the United Nations first ever high-level discussion on pandemic preparedness in New York will today have one more chance to put measures in place to prevent the catastrophes that played out during the COVID pandemic from being repeated.

Heads of states and foreign and health ministers are meeting for a day to discuss — and hopefully adopt — a political declaration, to get around the inequities between countries in the Global North and South in getting vaccines and other medicines during COVID.

Africa’s long road to attracting vaccine FDI.

AUGUST 2023 – The Covid-19 pandemic was a loud wake-up call for the African continent.

The likes of Pfizer and Moderna were able to develop effective vaccines relatively quickly, but African countries languished behind the rest of the world in securing access to them.

Their struggle set in motion local and regional efforts to develop local value chains of vaccines and other key pharmaceuticals.

New Study Highlights Promising Pathway to Sustainable Vaccines and Biologics Manufacturing in Africa, using a Contract Manufacturing Model for Fill & Finish Operations.

6 JULY 2023 – Unizima, the technical advisory arm of Univercells Group, announces the findings of a new costing simulation tool that shows that local vaccine manufacturing can be sustainable in Africa under certain conditions.

As Africa’s population is projected to double by 2050 to 2.4 billion people1, meaning 1 in 4 people will be African by the middle of the century, the continent is focused on building a pharmaceutical sector of its own to respond to the needs of its population and secure high skilled jobs and economic growth on the continent. Looking at the African public vaccines market, it is projected to grow from USD 1.3 billion annually to between USD 2.4 and 5.4 billion by 2030, meaning a fourfold increase in less than 10 years 2.

This includes vaccines alone, not considering the need for other sterile injectable medicines such as for diabetes care (insulin) or cancer treatment (monoclonal antibodies).

The signing of a new agreement to drive vaccine impact in Africa.

15 MAY 2023 – The African Union Commission (AUC) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase access and accelerate the uptake of life-saving vaccines across African Union member states towards supporting immunization, providing technical and learning assistance and health systems strengthening.

The MoU was signed on behalf of the African Union Commission Chairperson by the AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs & Social Development (HHS) H.E. Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma and Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director General Dr Jean Kaseya, and Gavi Chief Executive Officer Dr Seth Berkley. The partnership builds on the historic Addis Declaration on Immunization (ADI), which aims to ensure that everyone in Africa – regardless of who they are or where they live – receives the full benefits of immunization.