Team Europe invests over 20 million to boost African Vaccine Manufacturing

As part of the Team Europe initiative on manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies (MAV+) in Africa Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen has signed a letter of intent with African Union Development Agency – NEPAD and announced Team Europe support to contribute to the two main African institutions for public health, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the African Medicines Agency (AMA).

Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said: “We have consistently supported the African Union’s goal to boost vaccine and medicine production in Africa, as part of our commitments jointly agreed at the Summit in February. Today’s new partnerships are another steppingstone in our joint endeavour for a safe and healthy African continent. In line with Global Gateway, EU stands ready to continue working closely together with partners to build resilient health care systems globally, and this will be at the heart of our upcoming EU Global Health Strategy.”

Five million euros will be granted to AUDA-NEPAD in order to advance the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH) program and the operationalisation of the African Medicines Agency (AMA). This project will support four specific workstreams: policy and legal frameworks, regulatory capacity development, regulatory information management systems and overall project coordination. The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) will work closely with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and African Union Member States.

Another 15,5 million will help to create the Team Europe Support Structure (TESS). It has received contributions from the European Commission (10,5 million), Belgium (3 million) and Germany (2 million) and will be implemented by a consortium of European agencies composed by Enabel, GIZ and Expertise France. Together with advancing the various work streams of MAV+, an important objective of the TESS is to support the Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) hosted by the African Centre of Disease Prevention and Control. Other measures covered include coordination of Team Europe investments in the context of MAV+, providing expertise at country level in Africa, and additional support to the African Medicines Agency.

MAV+ was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the G20 in May 2021, with an initial €1 billion backing from the EU budget and European development finance institutions such as the European Investment Bank (EIB). This amount is enhanced by contributions from EU Member States. To date, over 1.1 billion have been committed.