Inside Africa’s Sh154bn vaccine initiative launched in Paris

Imagine being broke, helpless and desperate. Now imagine asking a friend to help you build a house so that you do not sleep in the cold.

Also imagine your friend telling you he can help but on one condition; you build that house in his own home, and you accept.

This is what has happened with a promise by the French government to ensure ‘vaccine sovereignty’ after Africa launched a $1.2 billion vaccine manufacturing initiative known as the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) in Paris, France.

AVMA is an innovative finance mechanism designed to boost regional vaccine production capabilities in Africa and thus improve the continent’s resilience in the face of pandemics and other health emergencies.

It is designed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in close collaboration with the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC). AVMA will offer incentives to the region’s vaccine producers that successfully hit critical regulatory and supply milestones, helping to offset high upfront investment costs.

According to Gavi, the money will come from donors over the next ten years primarily through strategic reallocations of Covid-19 funding, totalling approximately Sh154 billion.

“Germany – US$ 318 million,European Commission – US$ 233 million,Italy – US$ 150 million,United States – US$ 150 million,France – US$ 100 million,Canada – US$ 65 million,United Kingdom – US$ 60 million,Japan – US$ 30 million,Norway – US$ 26 million,Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – US$ 10 million,Luxembourg – US$ 3 million and Ireland – US$ 710,000,” Gavi told the Nation.

“A specific declaration dedicated to support local production of vaccines against cholera was also made under the auspices of the initiative with the support of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the US, as well as the European Commission, Gavi, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and WHO,” the statement noted.