African health ministers have offered to ensure commitment and support to buy vaccines manufactured in Africa to build a sustainable industry capable of producing vaccines at scale.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) hosted a High-Level meeting themed ”Ministerial Consultations on Local Manufacturing” on the sidelines of the 77th World Health Assembly.
During the ministerial meeting, over 40 ministers of health, representatives from regional economic communities and partners were briefed on the findings of the vaccine supplier’s landscape analysis Africa CDC produced in partnership with Clinton Health Access Initiative and PATH, formerly the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health.
The ministers offered insights on the continent’s readiness and the challenges that manufacturers currently face, such as getting Africans to buy vaccines manufactured on the continent, which is central to making the business case.
Currently, nine commercial-scale production facilities on the continent are prepared for technology transfers, and three manufacturers are set to produce eight vaccines for the African market by 2030. These eight products require purchasers to remain commercially viable beyond their country’s domestic demand.
“Across the spectrum of requirements for the near-to-market products, predictable demand is the central challenge faced by manufacturers,” the meeting heard.
Africa is confronted with limited demand for homegrown vaccine offers, fragmented markets, and poor economies of scale that limit the business case for local manufacturers to invest in vaccine manufacturing facilities and other health product technologies.
The ministers suggested fast-track regulatory harmonization to push the wide distribution of medicines and to assure quality. There is a need to strengthen national regulatory authorities and domesticate the AU model law at the national level.
The AU Summit in 2024 decided the establishment of the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) as a solution. APPM aims to improve access to quality and affordable health products and promote the localization of manufacturing led by the Africa CDC.
During the briefing, the AU Member states pledged to support the continental ambition, avoid competition amongst member states, and strengthen the regional mechanism to ensure the continent can manufacture the vaccines and other health products it needs. It was reiterated that the African Medicines Agency (AMA) requires member states’ collective support to obtain affordable quality medicines.
The meeting allowed partners to share their responses in support of the local manufacturing agenda on the continent. The Africa CDC will pursue critical interventions in vaccine manufacturing to be on course to achieve the ambition of manufacturing 60% of vaccines needed by 2040. Read more: Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing
