African Nations Take Charge. The future of vaccine manufacturing in Africa. Brookings Institute. February 2022

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2022/02/14/the-future-of-vaccine-manufacturing-in-africa/ 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. Compounding these challenges are other obstacles such as the high cost of vaccine development, vaccine market fragmentation, and need for building workforce capacity, to name a few. When these challenges are juxtaposed with the absence of a long-term mobilizing vision, paucity of political will to invest in public health goods and technologies, and absence of enabling policies to incentivize investment and maintenance of vaccine manufacturing infrastructure, the skepticism of a bright future for vaccine manufacturing in Africa appears justified. .............................