Source: European Investment Bank
Recognising the imperative to be even better prepared for the next pandemic, we have continued to build on this previous success. The EIB is providing Gavi with €1 billion in liquidity to accelerate access to vaccines for viruses with pandemic potential (such as Ebola), and to support routine vaccination against preventable diseases like measles, malaria, and the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a leading cause of cervical cancer. (A new vaccine against tuberculosis could also be on the horizon.)
This innovative approach has also inspired others and catalysed their efforts. For example, the G7 development-finance institutions, together with the EIB, MedAccess, and the International Finance Corporation, are working on a new surge-funding instrument to mobilise vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other medical goods that low- and lower-middle income countries will need to respond to future pandemics.
Boosting regional vaccine production is a critical priority. Africa accounts for 20% of the world’s population, but produces just 0.1% of the world’s supply of vaccines. Building the continent’s vaccine-manufacturing base is a key part of any strategy to strengthen overall pandemic preparedness.
Here, too, the EIB’s partnership and financial innovation are a game changer. Gavi’s $1.2 billion African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator – backed by over €750 million from European governments, as well as institutions including the EIB – is designed to dismantle barriers to local vaccine production. To help Africa achieve vaccine sovereignty, the EIB is also directly financing production facilities in Ghana, South Africa, and Senegal, through the Institut Pasteur de Dakar.
Africa accounts for 20% of the world’s population, but produces just 0.1% of the world’s supply of vaccines.