As the world focuses on finding a vaccine for COVID-19, Africa has not been left behind. The African Union Commission has today launched a new initiative, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Consortium for COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial (CONCVACT). This is the union’s deliberation of the virtual conference on Africa’s Leadership Role in COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access held on 24-25 June 2020, presided over by the Chairperson of the African Union, H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat.
CONCVACT is being implemented as part of the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 endorsed by African Ministers of Health on 22 February 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and approved by the Bureau of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government on 26 March 2020. The strategy aims to prevent severe illness and deaths due to COVID-19 infection in African Union Member States, minimize social disruption, and mitigate the economic consequences of COVID-19.
“Success in developing and providing access to a safe vaccine requires an innovative and collaborative approach, with significant local manufacturing in Africa. We need to support the contribution of African scientists and healthcare professionals. We need to act with urgency,” said H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa in a Press Release issued by the union.
African Union says the rolling out of vaccine in Africa will be a key step towards achieving the three pillars of the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19: limiting transmission, preventing deaths, and laying the foundation for socio-economic recovery that should bring Africa’s integration agenda back on track.
“It is critically important for academics, researchers, and the private sector to work together and use all available platforms for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, which will enable Africa to regain momentum for achieving the goals of the continental integration agenda,” said H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat.
CONCVACT aims to secure more than 10 late-stage vaccine clinical trials as early as possible on the continent by bringing together global vaccine developers and funders, as well as African organizations that facilitate clinical trials. The goal is to ensure that sufficient data is generated on the safety and efficacy of the most promising vaccine candidates for the African population so they can be confidently rolled out in Africa once vaccines are approved.
CONCVACT will focus on dismantling the most critical barriers to clinical trials by establishing partnerships with leading vaccine developers to host select late-stage trial sites in Africa. It also aims to identify countries and regions where opportunities to conduct trials are most promising and setting up an independent review board to provide guidance, assistance, and oversight to clinical trials. CONCVACT aims to provide objective, fact-based scientific guidance for interpreting the results of clinical trial data and hopes to engage global donors that are interested in investing in scaling-up vaccine distribution in Africa to raise sufficient funds to support the trials.
“There is an urgent need for global solidarity, cooperation, and appropriate regulation to ensure equitable access to potential COVID-19 vaccine. The African Union will continue to partner with GAVI, WHO, and other relevant stakeholders in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine,” said H.E. Amira Elfadil Mohammed, Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union Commission.
CONCVACT will be co-chaired by Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, Head of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for COVID-19 in South Africa; Dr. Samba Sow, Director-General, Center for Vaccine Development of Mali; and Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC. Other members of the consortium will include representatives of key organizations supporting clinical trials on the continent, including the WHO, The Africa Academy of Sciences’ Clinical Trials Community, Institute Pasteur, African Vaccine Regulatory Forum, African Medicines Agency, NEPAD, and others.
“The African initiative to develop a vaccine against the new coronavirus is welcomed and encouraged. Through this initiative, Africa will be at the forefront as the world seeks to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Prof. Moustafa Mijiyawa, Chair of the Africa CDC Governing Board and Minister of Health of Togo.
The African Union CDC says it will embark on a multi-stakeholder partnerships drive to advance CONCVACT and other subsidiary initiatives, to ensure broad endorsement and support across Africa, by institutions and the African people. South Africa is the first country in Africa to start a clinical trial with the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg testing a vaccine developed by the Oxford Jenner Institute in the United Kingdom. The South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial is expected to involve 2000 volunteers aged 18–65 years and include some people living with HIV.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries in Africa to take concrete actions to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, as researchers around the world race to find effective protection against the virus. Africa has confirmed 522,643 cases, 257,466 of which are active, 252,944 recoveries, and 12,233 deaths.
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