COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, following the initial rapid expansion in confirmed cases globally.
As of early August 2020, has thus far resulted in over 18.2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, and close to 700,000 related deaths worldwide – this includes 891,943 COVID-19 cases and 18,893 related deaths in African nations. Although initially slow to spread in Africa, the impact of COVID-19 has recently surged across the continent, registering a 120% growth in confirmed cases and 85% growth in deaths from June to July 2020.