Johannesburg: Africa consumes nearly 25 percent of all globally produced vaccines, yet imports 99 percent of its vaccines and 90 percent of its medical supplies. This stark imbalance was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when countries hoarded vaccine doses, leaving Africa at the back of the queue despite facing persistent disease outbreaks due to low vaccination coverage and weak health systems.
According to Global Voices, in response to this dependency, African leaders launched the Saving Lives and Livelihoods (SLL) initiative in 2021, with an ambitious USD 1.5 billion strategy aimed at vaccinating 70 percent of the continent’s population and sparking a homegrown revolution in health security. The initiative, led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and funded by the Mastercard Foundation, delivered 35 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and supplied millions of personal protective equipment to a dozen countries, while expanding genomic sequencing capabilities significantly.
Despite Africa’s vast disease burden, the continent participates in less than three percent of global clinical trials. This marginal involvement in vaccine science underscores a critical gap in developing medicines suited to African patients and health systems. Dr. Alemayehu Duga of Africa CDC emphasized the importance of clinical trials in generating evidence to protect African lives effectively.
The SLL initiative also focuses on pharmacovigilance to enhance safety surveillance and improve reporting on adverse events following immunization. By the end of its first phase, 53 percent of the target population in 29 countries had been fully vaccinated, with significant strides made in training health workers and improving logistics.
However, under-investment in health remains a challenge. The Abuja Declaration of 2021 called for African Union member states to allocate at least 15 percent of their annual national budgets to health. Yet, over two decades later, only three countries consistently meet this target. Despite funding gaps, countries like Rwanda and Morocco have made strides in pandemic preparedness and pharmaceutical production.
Across Africa, 25 vaccine manufacturing projects are in various stages of development, with countries like Nigeria, South Africa, and Senegal spearheading initiatives. To support these efforts, the African Medicines Agency and Africa CDC are working to harmonize regulatory frameworks and support WHO prequalification of locally made vaccines by 2030.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored Africa’s need for self-reliance. In response, Gavi launched the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator in June 2024, pledging up to USD 1.2 billion over ten years to bolster Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity. Additionally, Afreximbank committed USD 2 billion to scale health product manufacturing.
As the second phase of the SLL initiative gears up with a USD 638 million investment, the goal of achieving vaccine sovereignty by 2040 seems within reach. The initiative aims to transform Africa’s health landscape, ensuring the continent is better prepared for future global health crises.