At the Second Vaccine and Health Products Manufacturing Forum held in Cairo, two landmark cooperation agreements were signed, marking a significant step for Africa towards the autonomous production of vaccines. The first end-to-end mRNA vaccine production platform will be established in Africa, with a planned annual production capacity of 100 million doses of vaccines. Meanwhile, the research and development cooperation of local mRNA technology in Africa will also be deepened.
This cooperation is supported by the Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, with an investment of $1.2 billion, aiming to promote the production of vaccines "Made in Africa, for Africa." The first agreement was reached among Egypt's EVA Pharma, France's DNA Script, Belgium's Quantoom Biosciences, and Unizima, to jointly build a digital biopharmaceutical mRNA vaccine platform. The second agreement was signed between Egypt's Biogeneric Pharma and South Africa's Afrigen, aiming to expand the application of mRNA vaccine technology.
These initiatives not only enhance Africa's ability to respond to infectious disease outbreaks but also improve the immunization coverage rate. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), stated that these agreements prove that Africa is no longer just a vaccine buyer but is becoming a vaccine producer.
Currently, the African vaccine market is worth over $1 billion, yet the local production capacity only accounts for 0.1% of the global supply. The African Union has set a target that by 2040, vaccines produced locally in Africa should cover 60% of the demand.
Although investments in vaccine manufacturing have increased after the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the completion of South Africa's Afrigen mRNA research center in 2022 and Rwanda's BioNTech modular factory in 2023, African manufacturers still face the challenge of insufficient market demand. To address this, experts attending the forum called for the establishment of an African Union-level vaccine procurement mechanism similar to Egypt's Unified Procurement Authority (UPA) to ensure stable demand and fair pricing.
Meanwhile, vaccine production needs to meet strict international quality standards. Egypt reached Level 3 of the World Health Organization's vaccine regulatory maturity in 2024, leading alongside South Africa. The African Medicines Agency (AMA) is committed to unifying regulatory approvals to help African vaccines access a broader market.
In the future, the Africa Excon - African Vaccines and Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Expo will be held in Egypt in June 2025, further promoting investment and cooperation.
