More Collaboration Needed To Establish African Vaccine Industry

Vaccine manufacturers and suppliers must coordinate more closely if they are to overcome a range of challenges to the establishment of a successful industry in Africa, according to a new report.

The latest report from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations CEPI - which aims to accelerate the development of vaccines and other countermeasures against epidemics and pandemics - said that credit terms, production capacity constraints, tariffs and duties, volume demand uncertainty and forex shortages are all impacting the establishment of an African vaccine industry.

"While many of these constraints are structural issues, most of the suppliers stressed out the need for a joint coordination among the manufacturers and jointly with the suppliers - they mentioned that this could reduce lead-times and prices," the report says.

The assessment of the current vaccine manufacturing industry in Africa, conducted by CEPI, aims to inform the Platform for Harmonized African Health Products Manufacturing.

The platform, set up by Africa's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC and supported by global, regional and local stakeholders, has a target of increasing the quantity of vaccines used in Africa to be manufactured on the continent from less than 1 in 2021 to 60 in 2040.