Team Europe Initiative on manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies in Africa

Objectives

The overall objective of the TEI is to facilitate access to quality, safe, effective and affordable health products as outlined in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target 3.8. Supporting access to essential health products and technologies is an opportunity to target several development objectives and geo-political priorities shared by both the EU and the African Union. It can stimulate growth and decent jobs, facilitate trade, diversify global value chains, create private sector engagement, and reinforce our health, scientific and diplomatic ties with partner countries, while advancing universal health coverage, and human development and public health objectives. 

MAV+ was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen 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 will be further enhanced by contributions from EU Member States. It is in line with the EU’s Strategy with Africa and the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM). The importance of the initiative, as well as the production of health products for Africa in Africa, was emphasised at the annual State of Union address in September 2022. 

MAV+ delivers an integrated and comprehensive support package tackling barriers to manufacturing and access to health products and technologies in Africa from all angles. It places the continent’s own actors and institutions at its heart. 

On the supply side, together with the EIB and development banks, this TEI incentivises and de-risks investment into local pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

On the demand side, this TEI works with African leaders and partners to tackle the fragmentation of local markets and help consolidate demand, facilitate market integration and the use of locally produced goods. 

Regarding the enabling environment, the initiative will address the threat of substandard and falsified products and boost confidence in local goods by strengthening regulatory frameworks. The newly established African Medicines Agency (AMA), whose treaty entered into force in November 2021, will be able to count on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in this respect. The initiative also supports technology transfer, for example through multilateral initiatives, notably WHO’s mRNA technology transfer hub and their manufacturers.  

These 3 key dimensions revolve around 6 work streams

• industrial development, supply chains and private sector
• market shaping, demand and trade facilitation
• regulatory strengthening
• technology transfer and intellectual property management
• access to finance
• R&D, higher education and skills

These work streams include national and regional level interventions. 

• As of March 2023, Team Europe has a total planned allocation of €1.1 billion with around €980 million already approved and under implementation. This encompasses €663.80 million in loans and other financial instruments from European Development Financial Institutions (EDFIs) and €316 million in grants, budget support and blended finance.
• At continental level, EU funding has been channelled into regulatory strengthening and the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), the WHO’s mRNA technology transfer hub, and the Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), hosted by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC).
• At country level, the first EU support packages are contributing to the MADIBA project led by Institut Pasteur in Senegal and local production in South Africa, and are creating the right ecosystem for investments in Rwanda and Ghana. Several other projects are under assessment.

This Team Europe Initiative aligns with the EU pharmaceutical strategy. It benefits from synergies with other health initiatives, such as the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking - a clinical trials partnerships designed to accelerate the development of new or improved health technologies. 

It complements Team Europe’s support for the COVAX Manufacturing Task Force. Team Europe is the lead contributor to COVAX with close to €5 billion in cash and loans for the facility and over 472 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines shared by EU Member States.

Team Europe

• European Commission and European External Action Service  

• European Medicines Agency and network of European regulators 

• European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) 

• EU Member States (funders): Germany, France and Belgium 

• EU Member States (supporters): Denmark, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Czechia, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Malta, Austria, Italy, Lithuania, Greece 

• EIB and bilateral banks

African organisations  

• African Union Commission  

• Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention  

• AUDA-NEPAD (African Union Development Agency) 

• African Medicines Agency 

• African governments and national regulatory agencies

International partners 

• WHO 

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation