The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) launched a new survey this week to assess the vaccine manufacturing capacity and capabilities of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, to better inform ahead of future epidemics.
“While incredible efforts were made to track the potential production capabilities of COVID-19 vaccines, data is required to establish a picture of what manufacturing capacity and capability is like for all vaccines, concentrating on Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, to facilitate improving epidemic and pandemic preparedness within these regions,” Matthew Downham, sustainable manufacturing lead for CEPI, said. “Our vaccine manufacturing capacity survey, therefore, attempts to combine what is out there already at a regional level and enhance this to create a map tracking all current efforts.”
Much of the data around potential vaccine production is currently recorded on a regional rather than international basis.
The foundations of this new map were established over the last year through collaborations with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF. The latter effort focused on identifying potential global COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity. Together, the organizations expanded their assessments to include all vaccine production efforts either currently in place or ready to be established in these regions.
“This critical information will then be used by CEPI to inform our future decisions and investments in new partnerships aiming to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity, capability, and innovations to improve public health response,” Downham said.
Invitations to participate in this exercise were sent to vaccine manufacturers, global health organizations, and government agencies within Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. They were chosen as regions based on CEPI’s assessment that they are where vaccine production capabilities and capacities likely need to be either created or expanded.
This effort is one part of CEPI’s $3.5 billion strategy to reduce or eliminate the future risk of pandemic and epidemics, announced earlier this year.