Africa’s next big launch isn’t a satellite but eight syringes—home-grown vaccines slated to lift off in just four years.
Africa could be administering its first wave of fully “Made-in-Africa” vaccines by 2029, according to Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya. Answering questions during a press briefing on Thursday, Kaseya said eight vaccines are already moving through an African manufacturing pipeline and will be backed by a continent-wide pooled-procurement platform designed to keep prices competitive from launch day.
“We will celebrate eight vaccines, made by Africans, for Africans,” Kaseya told science and health journalist Paul Adepoju. The DG did not name the products but said they target “priority” diseases and will be shepherded through an emerging network of national regulatory authorities aligned with the African Medicines Agency to speed approvals “without sacrificing safety.”
The manufacturing push is part of a wider pivot from donor-driven emergency response to a prevention-first model rooted in primary health care. Africa CDC has created its first Director for Primary Health Care and is building a cadre of community health workers charged with spotting and halting outbreaks before they mushroom. “Prevention isn’t a slogan — it’s cheaper, faster and worth every cent when outbreaks strike,” Kaseya said.
The DG delivered a blunt message to external partners whose funding has long underpinned Africa’s vaccination campaigns: “Partners are welcome, but only if they follow Africa’s vision. Don’t claim to help while steering us off course.” Recent constraints on global health budgets, he argued, make self-reliance urgent.
A procurement mechanism modelled on the Pan-American Health Organization’s revolving fund is expected to sign its first agreements “in the coming weeks,” Kaseya added, though he declined to name suppliers before contracts are finalised.
Kaseya’s timeline is ambitious, but observers note that several African manufacturers already have facilities capable of filling and finishing vaccines once clinical trials and regulatory reviews clear the way.