With a surge in funding, R&D and private sector investment, Africa is primed for a transformative leap towards vaccine autonomy. A recently announced US$1.8 billion shot in the arm puts vaccine self-sufficiency within reach. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Recent approval by the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) of a US$1.8 …
Read More »Sh60 billion anti-tick vaccine production facility nears completion
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The construction of a sh60-billion anti-tick vaccine production facility at Nakyesasa in Nalukulongo, Wakiso District will be concluded in April 2023, according to the National Agricultural Research Organisation – NARO. In October 2022, NARO, officially commenced field trials of the anti-tick vaccine dubbed TicVac-U …
Read More »Gavi gives Africa’s vaccine project US$1 bn pledge
Local manufacturing of vaccines is Africa’s ‘second independence’ says Africa CDC boss Lusaka, Zambia | RONALD MUSOKE | The African Union’s desire to ramp-up vaccine manufacturing on the continent has been boosted by a commitment in principle by GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, to inject US$1 billion into the process. Dr. Jean …
Read More »TB vaccine a big deal
ANALYSIS | Charles Shey Wiysonge | The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine for TB has been used for 100 years. It is largely effective for children under five, but less so in older people and can’t be used on patients who have certain medical conditions. Today we’re the closest we’ve ever been to …
Read More »Advancing Vaccine Manufacturing: African nations need to collaborate to boost pharmaceutical production
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Civil society organizations, government representatives, and the private sector convened at a high-level policy symposium in Kampala on September 27-28 to address the critical issue of pharmaceutical production and access in Africa. The symposium aimed to explore ways to increase local production, reduce dependence on …
Read More »Excitement over second malaria vaccine
The latest vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, is a product of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended a new, inexpensive malaria vaccine to prevent malaria in children that can be produced on a massive scale. The latest vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, …
Read More »The malaria game changer
Man behind revolutionary vaccine says disease can now be eradicated COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organisation has approved a new vaccine that scientists argue will be a game-changer in the fight against malaria, which kills half a million people in Africa every year. (In contrast, COVID-19 has …
Read More »Africa vaccine manufacturing gets reality check
Pessimism rules at Eastern & Southern Africa pharmaceutical manufacturing conference Entebbe, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The clamour for Africa to ramp up its vaccine manufacturing portfolio has grown but players in pharmaceutical production on the continent say it will take more than boardroom talk for the continent to realise that …
Read More »Uganda to get first-ever malaria vaccine
18 million doses allocated to 12 African countries for 2023–2025 Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In response to high demand for the first-ever malaria vaccine, Uganda has been listed among 12 countries in Africa that will be allocated a total of 18 million doses of RTS,S/AS01 for the 2023–2025 period. …
Read More »Uganda adds malaria vaccine to routine immunization
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Twelve countries across different regions in Africa are set to receive 18 million doses of the first-ever malaria vaccine over the next two years. According to the latest statement by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the allocations have been determined through the application of …
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