The African Union (AU) has prioritized local production of health countermeasures since its inception, with heightened focus following the COVID-19 pandemic and challenges such as cholera, Ebola, malaria, mpox, Marburg and other emerging diseases. One of its efforts was the development of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa in 2007¹. The plan aims to strengthen the continental capacity to produce affordable, high-quality essential medicines, improving health outcomes while fostering economic benefits. The AU’s Agenda 2063 further reinforces the development of resilient health systems and local pharmaceutical manufacturing to achieve health sovereignty².

These goals confront a stark reality in Africa. In 2024 alone, the continent had to deal with over 160 disease outbreaks³. Yet as many as 70–90% of drugs consumed in sub-Saharan Africa are imported, and <1% of global vaccine production occurs on the continent⁴. This limited manufacturing capacity exacerbates delays in accessing life-saving vaccines during public health crises, as exemplified during the COVID-19 pandemic⁵ and the current mpox outbreak⁶. Moreover, over-reliance on imports — often coupled with inadequate cold-chain infrastructure — hinders the timely distribution of vaccines⁷. Diseases such as cholera and typhoid further emphasize the necessity of regional solutions and end-to-end vaccine production systems. The oral cholera vaccine (OCV) technology transfer from the International Vaccine Institute to the Biovac Institute in South Africa exemplifies how strengthening manufacturing capacity can address vaccine shortages amid recurring outbreaks.

非洲联盟 （AU） 自成立以来一直优先考虑在当地制定卫生对策，在 COVID-19 大流行和霍乱、埃博拉、疟疾、猴痘、马尔堡和其他新出现的疾病等挑战之后，它更加关注。其中一项努力是 2007 年制定非洲药品生产计划 ¹。该计划旨在加强非洲大陆生产负担得起的高质量基本药物的能力，改善健康状况，同时促进经济效益。非盟的 2063 年议程进一步加强了有韧性的卫生系统和当地药品制造的发展，以实现卫生主权 ²。

这些目标在非洲面临着严峻的现实。仅在 2024 年，非洲大陆就不得不应对 160 多起疾病暴发 ³。然而，撒哈拉以南非洲消费的药物中有多达 70-90% 是进口的，全球疫苗产量的 <1% 发生在非洲大陆 ⁴。这种有限的生产能力加剧了在公共卫生危机期间获得拯救生命的疫苗的延迟，COVID-19 大流行 ⁵ 和当前的猴痘疫情 ⁶ 就是一个例子。此外，过度依赖进口——通常加上冷链基础设施不足——阻碍了疫苗的及时分发 ⁷。霍乱和伤寒等疾病进一步强调了区域解决方案和端到端疫苗生产系统的必要性。国际疫苗研究所向南非 Biovac 研究所转让口服霍乱疫苗 （OCV） 技术，体现了加强生产能力如何解决反复爆发的疫苗短缺问题。