The African Vaccine Procurement Trust Fund (AVAT), the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and COVAX hope to draw the international community’s attention to Africa and other COVAX’s participation in the economy based on the lessons learned from our collective experience in dose donation over the past few months COVID-19 vaccine donation by individuals, especially those economies supported by Gavi COVAX’s Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
AVAT and COVAX complement each other to support African countries in achieving their immunization goals and recognize the global goal of providing immunization to 70% of the African population. Dosage donation has always been an important source of supply, and other sources are also stepping up, but the quality of donations needs to be improved.
AVAT and COVAX are focused on accelerating the acquisition and promotion of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa. Together, we are rapidly expanding supplies to the African continent and providing support to countries so that they can use the doses they receive. To date, more than 90 million doses of donated vaccines have been delivered to the African continent through COVAX and AVAT, and millions of doses have been delivered to the African continent through bilateral arrangements.
However, most of the donations so far are temporary, with almost no notice, and the shelf life is very short. This makes it extremely challenging for countries to plan vaccination campaigns and improve absorptive capacity. In order to achieve higher coverage across the entire African continent and make donations a sustainable source of supply that can complement the supply from the AVAT and COVAX procurement agreements, this trend must change.
Countries need predictable and reliable supplies. It is necessary to plan in a short period of time and ensure that a dose with a short shelf life is taken, which will exponentially magnify the logistical burden of an already stretched health system. In addition, this temporary supply utilizes capabilities—human resources, infrastructure, cold chain—that can be used for long-term successful and sustainable promotion. Once a dose with a short shelf life reaches the country, it will also greatly increase the risk of expiration, which may have a long-term impact on vaccine confidence.
The way of donating to COVAX, AVAT and African countries must enable countries to effectively mobilize domestic resources to support promotion, and enable long-term planning to increase coverage. We call on the international community, especially donors and manufacturers, to comply with the following standards from January 1, 2022, and commit to this effort:
AVAT, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and COVAX continue to work with donor countries, vaccine manufacturers and partners to ensure that these standards are maintained, as we will continue to work together to achieve Africa’s vaccination goals.
The African Union (AU) is a continental institution composed of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent. It was formally established in 2002 as the successor of the Organization of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999). https://au.int/en/overview
The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a specialized technical agency of the African Union. It aims to strengthen the capabilities and capabilities of African public health institutions and partnerships to quickly and effectively detect and respond to disease threats and outbreaks, based on data-driven Interventions and plans. For more information: www.africacdc.org
About the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT)
The African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) is a special purpose organization established in Mauritius. AVAT acts as a central procurement agent on behalf of the member states of the African Union (AU) to ensure access to the necessary vaccines and mixed financing resources to achieve Africa's COVID-19 vaccination strategy, which aims to be based on the approach of the entire Africa. AVAT was established by the COVID-19 African Vaccine Procurement Working Group, which was established in November 2020 by His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, as the Chairman of the African Union (AU), as the head of state and government of the African Union Supporting component of the COVID-19 immunization strategy approved by the Summit in August 2020. AVAT’s main partners are the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) of the African Union, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
COVAX is the vaccine pillar of the accelerator for acquiring the COVID-19 Tool (ACT). It is jointly led by CEPI, Gavi, and WHO, and cooperates with UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization as delivery partners, vaccine manufacturers in developed and developing countries, and the world Bank cooperation, and others. This is the only global initiative that works with governments and manufacturers to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine is available globally to high-income and low-income countries.