The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) has unveiled plans to establish a Country and Project Office in Kenya to bolster vaccine research, development, and training across Africa.
The office will also enhance IVI’s Advancing Vaccine End-to-End Capabilities (AVEC) Africa initiative in collaboration with the Kenya BioVax Institute.
The AVEC Africa initiative was unveiled during an event co-hosted by IVI, the Government of Kenya, and the Africa CDC on February 18 and received support from African Heads of State including President William Ruto.
The initiative is set to address critical gaps in vaccine development and distribution, aligning with the Africa CDC’s goal of localizing vaccine manufacturing to meet 60 percent of the continent’s needs by 2040.
IVI Director General, Dr. Jerome Kim expressed enthusiasm for the project, highlighting its potential to transform Africa’s vaccine landscape.
He emphasized the significant role of the Government of Kenya, particularly the Ministry of Health and agencies like the Kenya BioVax Institute and Kenya Medical Research Institute, in driving AVEC Africa’s success.
“AVEC Africa imagines a whole-of-continent approach aligned with the vaccine manufacturing goals of the Africa CDC and African Union. “Through collaborations with research centers, universities, manufacturers, and governmental bodies, AVEC Africa aims not only to synchronize the essential cogs of a well-running vaccine industry but to give it its engine,” said Dr Kim.
IVI is a non-profit international organisation established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.
Diseases targeted by IVI’s vaccine development initiatives include cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV (human papillomavirus), and COVID-19.
IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is recently pre-qualified by WHO.
The organisation is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, a Country Office in Austria, and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar.
39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding.
