PAHO and Africa CDC address equitable access to vaccines

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) last Friday, September 20,2024 signed an agreement with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to collaborate on equitable access to vaccines, medicines and other strategic health technologies. A PAHO release explained that under the shared vision, the two organizations will leverage their respective expertise, including through PAHO’s Regional Revolving Funds, to strengthen regional regulatory, innovation and production mechanisms, and feed into the development of the African pooled procurement mechanism and promotion of local manufacturing of essential medicines, vaccines and public health supplies for Africa and the Americas.

The organizations will also collaborate to advance research, innovation and digital transformation of health systems to respond to current and emerging public health challenges, as well as to enhance prevention, preparation and response to health emergencies.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic “our goal is to create a more resilient Region,” Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director said during the opening session of the visit on September 18. This includes “increasing regional manufacturing capacities and providing innovations to our Member States that will boost the Region’s goal of decreasing dependency on a global response in critical emergencies or future pandemics”. “We hope this exchange meeting will improve our collective expertise and strengthen our efforts to address the public health needs of our respective regions,” he added.

“Today marks a new chapter in the partnerships between our two regions, Africa and the Americas. United by our shared missions of supporting our respective Member States to strengthen health systems and respond to emergencies, Africa CDC and PAHO look forward to a strategic collaboration for global health security,” Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa CDC said. “PAHO’s knowledge and experience in pooled procurement mechanism operationalization, will greatly benefit the Africa CDC as we strive to implement the decision of African Heads of States and Governments to establish the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) to improve access to quality and affordable health products and promote the localization of manufacturing,” he added.

The signing took place following the first official visit of a high-level Africa CDC delegation to the PAHO Headquarters in Washington D.C. from 18-20 September. The visit also included a discussion on the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), an initiative established by the African Union in 2021 to enable the African vaccine manufacturing industry to develop, produce, and supply over 60 percent of the total vaccine doses required on the continent by 2040. Discussions also touched on the collaboration to strengthen and grow South-South cooperation to address health challenges and leverage the opportunities that both regions offer.

During the meeting, PAHO experts shared their knowledge and experiences, including on the evolution and operationalization of the PAHO Regional Revolving Funds. Issues such as demand consolidation, planning and forecasting, quality and logistics were also discussed, as was the importance of strengthening regulatory and regional production strategies.

Africa CDC also briefed PAHO on the current Mpox continental response plan, including collaborative efforts with partners to prevent deaths and facilitate access to life saving vaccines.

The Organizations also looked at ways to continue to foster collaboration on broader strategic priorities in both regions with an aim to deliver on their mutual mission of improving and safeguarding health.

“Africa CDC looks forward to this cooperation and mutual learning from both our regions to achieve better health outcomes in Africa and the Americas,” Dr. Kaseya said.

“We are keen on exploring the opportunities this collaboration presents,” Dr. Barbosa said. “Together, we can achieve important advancements in public health and ensure equitable access to health technologies for all.”