The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the African Union Commission have announced the signing of an memorandum of understanding, which aims to strengthen ties between the organisations and the Africa CDC a specialised institution of the African Union responsible for the prevention and control of diseases in Africa to enhance vaccine R&D and manufacturing in Africa.
This collaboration forms a major part of CEPI’s longer term epidemic and pandemic strategy, announced in March, 2021. As part of this strategy, CEPI aims to work with low-income and middle-income countries to develop the infrastructure and expertise to undertake the epidemiological and clinical studies needed to advance vaccine development, support technology transfer, and develop national and regional manufacturing capacity that will enable these countries to take full ownership of their national health security.