Matthew Downham, Director of Manufacturing and Supply Chain, CEPI & Abebe Genetu Bayih, Ag. Lead Local Manufacturing of Health Commodities, Africa CDC.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep inequities in global vaccine access, with countries and regions without the ability to manufacture vaccines often left behind. The inequity was particularly felt in Africa. By July 2022, for approximately every three doses of COVID-19 vaccines delivered worldwide, only around one reached Africa. This lag was, in part, due to Africa’s reliance on external countries and donors to provide vaccines.
To avoid a repeat of this scenario, the African Union has set an ambitious goal: by 2040, over 60 percent of the vaccines needed for Africa’s population should be produced locally. Today this figure sits at just one percent. Achieving this ambition will require more than just expanding manufacturing capacity—it demands a resilient and sustainable supply chain for the many specialised materials that go into making vaccines. CEPI is supporting Africa CDC and other regional partners to explore how to build such a chain in Africa—one that can support producing routine immunisations, and one that can be called upon to develop new vaccines during future outbreaks.
Understanding the scale of Africa’s vaccine supply chain challenge
Among the challenges involved in manufacturing vaccines is the sheer volume of input materials needed to produce a vaccine. Up to 500 unique products are required for the manufacture of just one type of vaccine. From sterile plastic bags, connectors, and filters to single-use consumables and raw materials, the list is long. And so, it soon becomes clear that managing the logistics of procuring and delivering these materials across the continent is no simple feat.
To understand the scale of the challenge, in February 2024, Africa CDC and CEPI co-hosted the first African Vaccine Manufacturing Supply Chain Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. The three-day meeting was dedicated to assessing African input material supply chain challenges, using this information provided by experts to build upon and strengthen Africa’s existing vaccine manufacturing.
The forum helped us to understand what needs to be done. Now we are moving on to how this can be achieved.
Recently published CEPI-funded research conducted by The MindCo interviewed multiple existing African vaccine manufacturers and suppliers of input materials to determine what mid-to-long-term solutions could be implemented to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa. The work is intended to inform the Platform for Harmonized African Health Products Manufacturing, set up by Africa CDC to reach its 60% goal.
How to establish a robust vaccine supply chain
Interviews with suppliers found that, although they recognise the emerging African vaccine market, there is uncertain input material demand, leading to procurement backlogs. The high import costs of delivering supplies to Africa, complex logistics, and bureaucratic hurdles for customs clearance further complicate the situation. All of this results in long lead times and increased cost of goods for input materials that ultimately delay vaccine manufacture and supply in Africa.
The manufacturers and suppliers The MindCo interviewed also put forward several potential solutions to overcome these barriers.
Strengthen supplier-manufacture collaboration: Input material suppliers want closer cooperation with African vaccine manufacturers to support the region’s expansion plans. This will be facilitated through upskilling people on how to forecast demand and logistics planning to help reduce cost of goods and supply lead times. Vaccine manufacturers also need to engage at an earlier stage with suppliers, customs and freight shippers to streamline procurement and delivery.
Localise critical materials: Standardising input material demand—for example, using the same types of vials across vaccines—would enable manufacturers to pool their orders into a single, larger order. This would reduce costs, improve shipping efficiencies and simplify logistics. Crucially, it could also support decision-making to move the production of input material needed for vaccine manufacture to Africa. This would make it easier and faster to get supplies to the factories making the vaccines, reduce shipping delays, and lower the chance of running out of materials.
Other solutions include developing a shared online system for streamlined procurement and collaboration among manufacturers, and diversifying production by adding fill-and-finish products, like insulin, to sustain businesses and avoid dependency on one to two products. Read the full report to explore these potential solutions further. As the risk of viral outbreaks—both new and re-emerging—escalates across Africa, the importance of a robust, locally supported vaccine supply to promote better health security on the continent cannot be understated. Africa CDC, with CEPI’s support, will delve further into these solutions identified by vaccine suppliers and Africa’s vaccine manufacturers and work with partners in the region to begin actioning these key solutions. Collaborative work like this helps to move forward an African vaccine input material supply chain. One that is capable of achieving 60% of the continent’s vaccine manufacturing needs locally by 2040.
