Prime Highlights
- Africa CDC and Aspen Pharmacare are discussing a long-term plan to expand vaccine manufacturing in Africa.
- The partnership aims to cut Africa’s heavy reliance on imported vaccines and improve supply security.
Key Facts
- Africa consumes more than one billion vaccine doses annually but imports most of them.
- Aspen Pharmacare is Africa’s largest pharmaceutical company with manufacturing facilities in South Africa.
Background
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and Aspen Pharmacare are in talks on a long-term framework to expand vaccine production across Africa. The proposed plan aims to strengthen health security after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the continent’s heavy dependence on imported vaccines.
The discussions focus on creating stable and viable markets for vaccines made in Africa. Governments and health agencies across the continent have increased efforts to build local manufacturing capacity after supply disruptions and shortages during the pandemic affected vaccine access in many countries.
Africa currently imports most of the vaccines it uses, even though the continent consumes more than one billion doses each year. The new collaboration seeks to reduce that dependence through a multi-year arrangement that supports local production, improves supply security and encourages long-term investment in manufacturing facilities.
The talks are centred on identifying priority vaccine antigens and gradually increasing supply volumes. Officials said output could eventually rise to tens or even hundreds of millions of doses annually. The plan also includes pricing products in line with market standards to help ensure affordability and competitiveness.
Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said the discussions with Aspen mark an important move toward turning Africa’s vaccine manufacturing goals into sustainable market opportunities. Aspen Chief Executive Stephen Saad said the company’s sterile manufacturing facilities in South Africa and established supply chain network would help produce vaccines at scale. Both sides will also discuss procurement, financing and risk-sharing as part of the proposed framework.
