Africa wants to produce its own vaccines. The African Union organized a virtual summit on vaccination against the Covid-19 pandemic last week. The objective is to succeed in creating five research and manufacturing centers in North, West, East, Central and Southern Africa.

In the presence of the Heads of State of South Africa, Rwanda, and the DRC, the summit resulted in the signing of a Partnership for the Manufacture of African Vaccines (APVM). In addition to African leaders, the videoconference brought together the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-iweala, the Executive Secretary of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, as well as representatives of the private sector and civil society.
The objective is to produce locally, by 2040, 60% of all the vaccines the continent needs (Covid and other diseases). Agreements have been signed with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), the pan-African bank Afreximbank and the Africa Finance Corporation.
According to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, the aim of the videoconference was to take stock of the situation of vaccination against the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa and to "formulate recommendations" with a view to creation of an enabling environment for the manufacture of vaccines, considering that the continent must have at least six production centers.