Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance said it proposes investing $189 million more towards developing Africa’s vaccine manufacturing sector. Gavi’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) is scheduled to make its first cash disbursement to an African vaccine manufacturer in the second half of 2026.

The measures, named AVMA+, are slated to be presented to Gavi’s board in July, it said. AVMA+ has been designed to provide additional support in addressing specific regulatory and market entry bottlenecks that act as a brake on investment; and provide guaranteed demand to African producers by directly purchasing up to 70 million doses from them through competitive tender processes. 

“In its first 18 months, AVMA has made remarkable progress, helping secure thirteen individual technology transfer agreements that have led to commercial-scale manufacturing facilities being built in six African countries,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, Gavi Chief Executive. “As our manufacturing partners continue down the pathway towards prequalification and full commercialisation, we believe that the new investments enabled by AVMA+ will accelerate the timelines for when African demand for vaccines will be met by local production.”

Covid-19 had laid bare Africa’s reliance on imported vaccines. With only 0.1 per cent of global production, despite being home to 20 per cent of the world’s population, the African continent found itself at the back of the queue for vaccines during the pandemic, Gavi noted. To ensure the continent never faces such a situation ever again, AVMA was launched in 2024 in collaboration with the African Union and Africa CDC. It helps manufacturers offset the upfront costs of bringing a vaccine by offering $1 billion in incentives for manufacturers that hit critical regulatory and supply milestones, it added. The first AVMA-supported Africa-manufactured vaccines could be deployed as early as 2027, it said.

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Published on May 18, 2026