Africa advances vaccine technology transfer to boost local manufacturing
“there is an urgent need for Africa to reduce dependency on external partners for vaccine supply and technology”
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in partnership with Team Europe, the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI), and the Ghana National Vaccine Institute (NVI), is hosting a three-day sensitisation workshop in Accra. The workshop focuses on technology transfer for African vaccine manufacturers.
The Africa CDC said that the workshop aimed to validate a draft companion guideline on technology transfer in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and strengthen efforts to build a sustainable vaccine manufacturing ecosystem on the continent during a webinar recently.
The African public health agency said that this initiative was part of the African Union’s Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), launched in 2021 to ensure Africa produces 60 percent of its vaccine needs by 2040.
It said that the AU expanded PAVM’s mandate into the broader Platform for Harmonised African Health Products Manufacturing (PHAHM), which also covers medicines, diagnostics, and other health products.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Simon Agwale, Vice Chair of the AVMI Board of Directors and Chair of its Technology Working Group, highlighted the urgent need for Africa to reduce dependency on external partners for vaccine supply and technology.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is now,” he said.
According to Agwale, despite accounting for 17 percent of the world’s population, Africa currently produces less than one percent of its vaccines.
“Key African vaccine manufacturers, including Biovac (South Africa), Innovative Biotech and Biovaccines (Nigeria), Afrigen (South Africa), and Institute Pasteur de Dakar (Senegal), are emerging as leaders in vaccine R&D and biomanufacturing.
“They are focusing on priority diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Lassa fever, Ebola, COVID-19, and HPV,” he said
He said that through initiatives like PHAHM and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), Africa aimed to produce 60 percent of its vaccines locally by 2040.
“By the end of the workshop, organisers expect to finalise the technology transfer companion guideline. This will enable regulators, manufacturers, and partners to align efforts and drive Africa’s vaccine self-sufficiency agenda,” he said.
Participants at the event included representatives from African vaccine manufacturers across 15 countries, national regulatory authorities, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and technical partners.
The workshop will present a draft guideline developed after a consultative meeting in Johannesburg in March, gather feedback, and refine it to make it practical and actionable for African manufacturers.
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