Mpox crisis: Why do African countries struggle to make or buy vaccines?

12 SEPTEMBER 2024 – After months of delay due to logistics, the first sets of mpox vaccines have finally begun arriving in Democratic Republic of the Congo, donated by Western countries.

The Central African nation is the epicentre of a new Mpox outbreak that led the World Health Organization (WHO) to sound its highest alert level last month. In 2024, more than 20,000 Mpox cases have been reported and more than 500 people have died. The virus is present in 13 African countries, as well as in some European and Asian nations.

Read more at: Al Jazeera
AVMI Hosts Ghana Minister Of Health For Fact-finding Mission On Vaccine Manufacturing Operations In SA
13 AUGUST 2024 – The African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) hosted the Honourable Minister of Health for Ghana, Bernard Okoe Boye and his delegation today (August 12, 2024), in what was a fact-finding mission to observe vaccine development and manufacturing operations in Cape Town, South Africa.

This significant visit aimed to highlight South Africa’s vaccine production capabilities and discuss potential areas of partnership between Ghana and South Africa to enhance vaccine accessibility and healthcare infrastructure.

Read more at: AmaGhanaOnline
Ghana minister of health in SA on mission to hunt for vaccine manufacturing operations
13 AUGUST 2024 – The African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) hosted Ghana’s Minister of Health, Bernard Okoe Boye, and his group on Monday, August 12, for a fact-finding tour at the vaccine development and production operations in Cape Town, South Africa.

This crucial visit was intended to promote South Africa’s vaccine production capabilities and to identify potential areas of collaboration between Ghana and South Africa to improve vaccine accessibility and healthcare infrastructure.

Read more at:IOL.co.za
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.

Read more at: WHO News
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.

Read more at: Devex.com
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.

Read more at: Devex.com
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.

Read more at: Vaccine Insights
Opinion: 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.

Read more at: Devex.com
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.

Read more at: LinkedIn.com
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.

Read more at: Africa CDC.org
#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.

Read More at: Bhekisisa.org
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.

Read more at: fDi Intelligence
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 which shows that local vaccine manufacturing can be sustainable in Africa under certain conditions.

Read more at: Unizima Press Release – Sustainable Vaccines Manufacturing in Africa
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 immunisation, providing technical and learning assistance and health systems strengthening.
Read more at: Gavi.org
Can Africa get close to vaccine independence? Here is what it will take.
27 APRIL 2023 – Just 3 percent of all COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered in 2021 went to Africa, home to one-fifth of the world’s population, according to the World Health Organization. In the vast debacle of global vaccine inequity, it was Africa that was left furthest behind as the pandemic raged, and that had the least leverage to negotiate contracts.
Read more at: Jordan News
African vaccines: local manufacturers are struggling to access the market – what must change
25 APRIL 2023 – Two recent developments in South Africa have underscored the opportunities – and challenges – facing vaccine production on the continent.
One was the visit by the World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to take stock of Africa’s mRNA vaccine hub. The hub was launched in mid-2021 in a bid to make the latest vaccine technology more readily available to developing countries.
Read more at: The Conversation
SA’s cheap shot at Biovac
19 APRIL 2023 – SA’s state-backed vaccine manufacturer Biovac has been dealt a blow by the department of health after it switched to a cheaper supplier of shots to protect children against deadly preumococcal diseases.
Read more at: PressReader.com
AFRICAN BIOMANUFACTURING – Workforce Training and Skills Development Programme
12 APRIL 2023 – The CSIR will be launching the African Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Programme, designed to support training and development in the biomanufacturing sector with the intent to develop a skilled and competent workforce on the continent. It is expected to run over three years, commencing in June 2023.
Read more at: CSIR Bio-manufacturing
Ramping up vaccine manufacturing in Africa
6 APRIL 2023 – Today, less than 1% of vaccines used in Africa are manufactured locally. This means that African countries are reliant on imports to immunize their people, including against long-standing diseases like polio and newer scourges like COVID-19.
Read more at: WIPO.int-Global Health Check-Up
[GVIRF 2023] WHO, CEPI, AVMI say establishing regional manufacturing easy but sustaining it difficult
30 MARCH 2023 – The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the stark global disparities in vaccine access and this spurred regions to start thinking of a regional response to future pandemics such as building regional manufacturing capacity.
Regional manufacturing capacity emerged as a cross-cutting theme in the sessions at the Global Vaccine and Immunization Research Forum (GVIRF 2023) conference.
Read more at: Korea Biomedical Review
Tanzania confirms first-ever outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
21 MARCH 2023 – Brazzaville/Dar es Salaam – Tanzania today confirmed its first-ever cases of Marburg Virus Disease after laboratory tests were carried out following reports of cases and deaths in the country’s north-west Kagera region.
Tanzania’s National Public Health Laboratory analysed samples to determine the cause of illness after eight people developed symptoms including fever, vomiting, bleeding and renal failure. Five of the eight cases, including a health worker, have died and the remaining three are receiving treatment. A total of 161 contacts have been identified and being monitored.
Read more at: WHO Africa
AFRICA CDC hosts lead partners of Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) for review of vaccine manufacturing ecosystem in Africa
15 MARCH 2023 – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) hosted its lead partners at a meeting on the sidelines of the Africa Health Agenda International Conference 2023 held in Kigali, Rwanda.
Read more at:AfDB.org
Devex CheckUp: Cracking the code on Marburg virus
16 FEBRUARY 2023 – Equatorial Guinea announced its first outbreak this week of the rare and deadly Marburg disease — a hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola.
Read more at: Devex.com
Five ways to scale up the African vaccine manufacturing industry
30 JANUARY 2023 – How can vaccine manufacturers in Africa expand their manufacturing capacity and capabilities? Deborah King, Vaccines Lead at Wellcome, highlights five key areas for support – including access to finance and training opportunities.
Read more at: Wellcome.org
Is there a regional solution to vaccine inequity?
17 JANUARY 2023 – The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global rollout of vaccines revealed the good, the bad and the ugly of the global community’s ability to come together and respond. The good – the delivery of safe and effective vaccines in under a year, saving nearly 15 million lives. The bad – despite vaccine development, there have been 6.6 million confirmed deaths, as of December 2022, and an estimated $14—28 trillion of economic damage globally. Read more at: WEForum.org
Are African-made vaccines the solution to vaccine inequity?
12 JANUARY 2023
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted a variety of global health inequalities, prime among them has been the devastating consequences of vaccine inequity. While high-income countries and those with robust vaccine manufacturing capacity gained swift access to doses once vaccines became available, those without were forced to wait.
Watch the full episode of The Stream at: The Stream on Al Jazeera
Breaking the cycle: building vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa
7 DECEMBER 2022 – On November 8, 2002, Charlotte Barker, Editor, Vaccine Insights, spoke to Patrick Tippoo about building vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa. This article has been written based on that interview. Read the article at: Insights.bio
Why vaccine independence is so important for Africa
DECEMBER 2022 – During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw warp-speed development of vaccines in some parts of the world. But for Africa, the pandemic highlighted the urgent need to build capacity on the continent to develop and manufacture much-needed vaccines. This is something the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) has been advocating for over 10 years. Read more at: WIPO.int
Biovac Signs Deal to Develop and Manufacture Oral Cholera Vaccine for African and Global Markets
23 NOVEMBER 2022 – South African based Bio-pharmaceutical company, Biovac, has concluded a ground-breaking licensing and technology transfer agreement with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), a non-profit international organisation headquartered in South Korea, for the manufacture of an oral cholera vaccine (OCV). Read more at: Biovac.co.za
Expanding sustainable vaccine manufacturing in Africa: Priorities for Support
NOVEMBER 2022, The pandemic has highlighted new and pressing challenges to regional vaccine supply resilience as a critical factor in global health security. While 1.8 billion doses1 of COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped under COVAX, including 0.6 billion to Africa, early delays in obtaining doses on the African continent stimulated new resolve to address future supply security. Read more at Gavi The Vaccine Alliance
Biovac and Development Partners Collaborate to Support South Africa’s Vaccine Manufacturing Expansion and Advance Long-Term Health Security Across Africa
1 MARCH 2022 – To support South Africa and the African continent increase vaccine manufacturing capacity and reduce reliance on imports, a consortium of nine development and finance institutions have today announced a partnership with Biovac in Cape Town, South Africa to support Biovac’s vaccine manufacturing expansion. Read more at: IFC.org
The future of vaccine manufacturing in Africa
14 FEBRUARY 2022 – Reminiscent of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic is perpetuating the stark reality of vaccine insecurity in Africa. Less than 1 percent of all vaccines used on the continent are locally produced—a statistic that reveals the region’s intense vulnerability and overdependence on foreign supplies. Read more at: Brookings.edu
Several African companies could make covid vaccines, if Big Pharma drops its resistance
DECEMBER 2021 – The pharmaceutical industry has repeatedly claimed that only a few companies worldwide are able manufacture covid-19 vaccines. But as the world grapples with omicron, a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that more than 100 firms can produce the required mRNA shots, including eight companies in Africa—in Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia.
Read more at:Quartz.com
Rwanda and Senegal will host Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine plants: what’s known so far
DECEMBER 2021 – The lack of vaccine production capacity in African countries has been the subject of much concern and hand-wringing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become a particularly hot topic because of the gravely unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines between developed and developing countries. Read more at: WIPO.int
Global Health Security Requires Pandemic Prevention
26 OCTOBER 2021 – COVID-19 has cost the world millions of lives and trillions of dollars, and it will not be the last time we face such a threat. But there’s hope, say the diverse and influential experts featured in our seventh documentary episode: it’s within our power to prevent another devastating pandemic. Learn why we must not wait to invest in key pandemic preventions like universal influenza vaccines. Read more at: Influenzer.org
How can Africa transform from a vaccine desert to a vaccine hub?
26 OCTOBER 2021 – To accelerate the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines across the continent, Africa is taking steps to boost homegrown vaccine manufacturing capacity and cut its 99 per cent import rate. Read more at: Standard.co.uk
Africa launches a race to produce its own COVID-19 vaccines in two years
27 AUGUST 2021 – South Africa, where part of the process is already underway, and Senegal, which aims to build a factory in record time, are the countries with the most advanced projects. Read more at: ElPais.com
Lagos to Mombasa: How Does the Pandemic End in Africa?
12 AUGUST 2021 – COVID-19 vaccine access rates in Africa remain dismal, according to the WHO’s most recent update. Just 20 million Africans, or 1.5 percent of the continent’s 1.2 billion people, are fully vaccinated. A third wave of infections is sweeping the continent and even the African Union’s modest goal of getting 20 percent of the population vaccinated by the end of 2021 seems out of reach. Listen to the full podcast at: CGDev.org
Africa’s vaccine ambitions
8 AUGUST 2021 – Africa is a continent of 1.3 billion people, but only makes 1% of the lifesaving vaccines it needs. The continent’s 54 nations are almost entirely dependent on agencies like Unicef and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for these essential pharmaceuticals. But the pandemic of 2020 has been a harsh lesson in the dangers of relying on other countries and agencies for such crucial provisions. Listen to the full podcast at: The Documentary – BBC World
COVID-19 third wave | Making vaccines in Africa
2 JULY 2021 – Interview with AVMI Executive Director, Patrick Tippoo on Making Vaccines in Africa. Listen to the full interview at: AfricaLink
Why the African Continent Needs a New Model for Buying and Accessing Vaccines
21 JUNE 2021 – Lenias Hwenda talks to Patrick Tippoo, the Excecutive Director African Vaccine Manufacturers Initiative (AVMI) to explore Africa´s plans for manufacturing vaccines in order to protect the health security of people on the continent. Patrick Tippoo, a veteran who has spent 30 years developing vaccines at Biovac in South Africa highlights the opportunity to establish a viable vaccine production industry on the African continent, the challenges in realizing this ambition and shares some concrete actions that need to be taken to address existing challenges. Watch the podcast at: Let’s Talk About Health in Africa
Dose of reality: What will it take to make mRNA vaccines in SA
24 MAY 2021 – Messenger RNA vaccines have been hailed for their manufacturing advantages over conventional vaccines – so much so that African leaders such as President Cyril Ramaphosa have called for mRNA production capacity to be developed in Africa. Catherine Tomlinson examines why they are easier to make than some other types of vaccine and asks what it will take to build such production capacity. Read more at: DailyMaverick.co.za
Africa no longer wants to be dependent on imported vaccines. But the way there is long
17 MAY 2021 – African governments are pushing for more vaccines to be produced on the continent. But it takes more than the release of patents. Read more at: NZZ.ch
The lifting of patents on anti-Covid vaccines, an insufficient measure for Africa
14 MAY 2021 – In the absence of vaccine production capacity, the lifting of intellectual property rights is not enough. Patrick Tippoo, director of the Africa Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative, calls for a transfer of resources to end inequalities between countries. Read more at: LaVie.fr
COVID-19: Africa Needs to Break the Circle of Dependency
13 MAY 2021 – Africa Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) primarily aims at promoting the establishment of sustainable human vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa. Since its establishment, AVMI together with multiple and different partners, have been advocating for the establishment of vaccine development and manufacturing in Africa. Read more at: Eurasia Review
Africa can avoid repeating its Covid-19 mistakes with a new malaria vaccine
9 MAY 2021 – A global group of researchers recently released a preliminary study reporting that their malaria vaccine showed up to 77% efficacy in a one-year preliminary clinical trial involving 450 children in Burkina Faso. Read more at: QZ.com
Why South Africa stopped making vaccines
6 MAY 2021 – South Africa is one of only a handful of African countries — the others are Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia — with at least some capability to make vaccines. Yet our country is producing next to none. Read more at: MG.co.za
South Africa manufactures COVID-19 vaccines
28 APRIL 2023 – On Wednesday, South Africa resumed its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, two weeks after suspending the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This time around, the country will have an extra boost of more than 1 million doses, produced locally. The World’s Halima Gikandi reports on what this tells us about vaccine manufacturing in Africa. Read more at: TheWorld.ord
width=150Africa’s vaccines revolution must have research at its core
21 APRIL 2021 – A continent of 1.2 billion people should not have to import 99% of its vaccines. But that is the tragic reality for Africa. Fixing the lack of home-grown manufacturing capacity has become a top priority for Africa’s policymakers. Last week, 40,000 people, including researchers, business leaders and members of civil-society groups, joined heads of state for a two-day online summit designed to share the latest developments and kick-start fresh thinking on how to bring vaccine manufacturing to Africa. Read more at: Nature.com
How COVID spurred Africa to plot a vaccines revolution
21 APRIL 2021 – Prompted by the pandemic, Africa’s leaders are on a path to ramp up capacity in vaccine manufacturing and boost the continent’s regulatory bodies for medicines. On 13 April, they pledged to increase the share of vaccines manufactured in Africa from 1% to 60% by 2040. This includes building factories and bolstering capacity in research and development. Read more at: Nature.com
A new era of vaccine sovereignty in Africa beckons
14 APRIL 2021 – Africa launched a new era of vaccine sovereignty this week, when government and industry leaders convened in Addis Ababa to map out a vaccine manufacturing strategy for the continent. Read more at: MG.co.za
What it will take to vaccinate the world against COVID-19
25 MARCH 2021 – A special report outlines the challenges — from unleashing the power of mRNA vaccines, to the battle for temporary relief on intellectual-property rights. Read more at: nature.com
Broad manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa a ‘very tall order’
24 MARCH 2021 – Increasing the manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 vaccines in Africa could help ensure that the continent doesn’t “have to beg for vaccines when there is an outbreak,” said William Ampofo, chair of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative. Read more at: devex.com
What is Africa’s vaccine production capacity?
19 MARCH 2021 – COVID-19 vaccination in Africa is gathering pace, with more than 7 million doses so far administered. But the continent received vaccines later than other regions of the world and in limited quantity. A few weeks after launching vaccinations, some countries are nearly exhausting their initial supplies. Professor William Ampofo, chairperson of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative, discusses vaccine manufacturing in Africa. Read more at: afro.who.int
Covid-19: WHO Africa expects third berth within weeks
18 MARCH 2021 – WHO’s regional director for Africa says a third wave of Covid-19 is expected in several countries in the coming weeks and encourages states to continue vaccination campaigns without pauses. Read more at: dw.com
width=120Vaccine production in Africa: an urgent priority
10 MARCH 2021 – Africa produces less than 1% of the human vaccines it uses. To effectively respond in time of outbreaks and pandemics, Africa must expand its vaccine development and production capabilities to cater for its growing population. Successfully establishing such an industry at scale is a multifaceted endeavour to create an enabling environment. This article highlights key factors and considerations for establishing local vaccine manufacturing. Read more at:european-biotechnology.com
Review: As Coronavirus Rises Past Three Million, Africa Still Lacks Its Own Vaccine
14 JANUARY 2021 – With its large population and fragile health systems, Africa has recorded more than three million Covid-19 cases, still less deadly as compared to other regions in the world, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). According to Africa CDC, Africa’s coronavirus tally was 3,021,769 as of January 10. The death toll was 72,121 and the number of recoveries was 2,450,492. The biggest number of coronavirus cases were reported from South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, and Ethiopia. Read more at: GlobalResearch.ca
World’s first fully liquid vaccine to be locally manufactured by CT-based Biovac
19 NOVEMBER 2020 – Cape Town-based bio-pharmaceutical company Biovac has begun local manufacturing of global pharmaceutical company, Sanofi Pasteur’s six-in-one paediatric hexavalent vaccine, Hexaxim. Read more at: News24.co.za
Africans must be involved in vaccine trials, and prepare now for day one of the vaccine availability
29 AUGUST 2020 – In an ideal world, communities should not be mere spectators but co-architects of health decisions impacting their well-being. Concerns around vaccine trials should be addressed and researchers should prioritize community engagement. Read more at: AllAfrica.com
South Africa could be first in region to produce Covid-19 vaccine
27 AUGUST 2020 – South Africa may sign a deal to help produce a Covid-19 vaccine, potentially boosting access to immunization on a continent with limited manufacturing capacity. Read more at: BusinessTech.co.za
COVID-19 VACCINE TRIAL AT GROOTE SCHUUR TO BE ROLLED OUT NEXT WEEK
23 JULY 2020 – South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine trial will be rolled out in the Western Cape by next week. Over 700 volunteers have so far been screened to participate in the randomized vaccine efficacy study. Read more at: EWN.co.za
African Union aims to scale up COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials
10 JULY 2020 — Currently there is only one clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate in sub-Saharan Africa, taking place in South Africa. But the African Union and World Health Organization, among others, are hoping that the number of clinical trials will increase across the continent to ensure that any successful vaccines that come to market will actually work for African populations and that they will be accessible to people across the continent. Read more at: Devex.com
HIV raises the risk of death from COVID-19 in South Africa’s Western Cape
8 JULY 2020 – HIV raises the risk of death from COVID-19 in South Africa’s Western Cape province and around eight percent of deaths from COVID-19 in the province are attributable to HIV, Dr Mary-Ann Davies of the Western Cape Health Department told the 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020: Virtual) today. Read more at: AIDSmap.com
Push for Local Vaccine Production as race for COVID-19 antidote continues
6th JULY 2020 – The World is facing an unprecedented health challenge that has seen the loss of over 500,000 in just 7 months. The novel 2019 Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) was first reported on 31st December 2019 and declared a global pandemic a month later by the World Health Organization on 30th March 2020. The first case in Africa, which has since reported over 350,000 cases, was reported 14th February 2020 in Egypt. 

Read more at: AVMI Press Release – Push for Local Vaccine Production
Global collaboration to accelerate new COVID-19 health technologies
24 APRIL 2020 – Global health actors, private sector partners and other stakeholders are launching a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable global access to new COVID-19 essential health technologies. View press release below. Read more at: WHO.int
The COVID-19 vaccine development landscape.
9 APRIL 2020 – The genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, was published on 11 January 2020, triggering intense global R&D activity to develop a vaccine against the disease. The scale of the humanitarian and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is driving evaluation of next-generation vaccine technology platforms through novel paradigms to accelerate development, and the first COVID-19 vaccine candidate entered human clinical testing with unprecedented rapidity on 16 March 2020. Read more at: Nature.com
If a coronavirus vaccine arrives, can the world make enough?
Researchers warn production constraints and hoarding could limit SARS-CoV-2 vaccine supplies. Read more at: Nature.com
width=97COVID-19 cases top 10 000 in Africa
7 APRIL 2020 – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has risen to more than 10 000 and caused more than 500 deaths. While the virus was slow to reach the continent compared to other parts of the world, infection has grown exponentially in recent weeks and continues to spread. Read more at: AFRO.WHO.int
WHO Director-General calls on G20 to Fight, Unite, and Ignite against COVID-19
26 MARCH 2020 – Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, addressed Heads of State at today’s extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit focused on COVID-19. Read more at: WHO.int
AU and WHO defend AstraZeneza vaccine in Africa despite doubts in Europe
18 MARCH 2021 – The African Union (AU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) encouraged on Thursday to continue vaccinating against covid-19 in Africa, even with the AstraZeneca vaccine paralyzed preventively in several European countries by the thrombi that thirty people have suffered. Read more at: Swissinfo.ch
DCVMN International welcomes newly formed Executive Committee 2020-23
2 JANUARY 2020 – At its 20th Annual General Meeting held in Rio, on October 22nd 2019, the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network international members elected, among its nominated membership, the new Executive Committee members, who volunteer their time and expertise to ensure the success of the Network. Read more at:DCVMN.org
Africa Wants to Manufacture Its Own Vaccines
Vaccinations save lives, but African countries almost always have to import the necessary serums. Now some governments are talking about producing vaccines locally – but it’s not that simple. Read more at: allafrica.com

Last Updated:  13 September 2024