Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, on Friday proposed an additional $189 million investment package aimed at accelerating vaccine manufacturing in Africa, as the continent seeks to reduce reliance on imported vaccines exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The measures, known as AVMA+, will be presented to Gavi’s board in July and are designed to complement the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), launched in 2024 to support local vaccine production.
AVMA+ will focus on tackling regulatory and market-entry barriers slowing investment in the sector and guaranteeing demand for African-made vaccines by purchasing up to 70 million doses through competitive tender processes once products reach the market.
“With thirteen individual technology transfer agreements already secured, we believe the new investments enabled by AVMA+ will accelerate the timelines for when African demand for vaccines will be met by local production,” Sania Nishtar, chief executive of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said in a statement.
She said the initiative would strengthen both Africa’s economic development and global health security.The COVID-19 pandemic exposed Africa’s dependence on imported vaccines, with the continent accounting for just 0.1% of global vaccine production despite being home to around 20% of the world’s population.
AVMA was created in collaboration with the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to help manufacturers offset the high upfront costs of vaccine development and production.
The programme has made up to $1 billion in incentives available for manufacturers achieving key regulatory and supply milestones.
Gavi said thirteen technology transfer agreements have already been signed between African manufacturers and international partners, while more than $3 billion in additional financing has been mobilised since AVMA’s launch.
The alliance added that the first AVMA-supported vaccines manufactured in Africa could be deployed as early as 2027.