RWANDA— The vaccines and immunization centre of excellence launched in February 2022 at the University of Rwanda, has received a major boost of funding to strengthen its expertise in vaccine development in the East Africa region.
Specifically, the Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunization and Health Supply Chain Management (RCE-VIHSCM) received a US$17 million allocation from the East Africa Community (EAC) to strengthen its capacity as the continent’s most eminent body on vaccines.
The allotment drew from the US$65 Million financing deal from the German government, BMZ to EAC to support health, digital skills, and water resource projects in the region.
The allocation will allow the centre to expand its expertise and reputation, especially in the areas of digitalization in health supply chain management, vaccine cold-chain management, quality control and drug safety among others.
Dr. Stephen Karengera, the Head of the RCE-VIHSCM mentioned that the support will boost the centre’s capacity and brand.
“This funding sustains the RCE into the next decade. It will allow the centre to build its own brand and capacity to generate its own revenue,” he said.
Dr. Karengera’s reiterated that the primary goal for the RCE-VIHSCM is to be 80% self-sufficient by 2029.
Moreso generating its own revenues through research, innovation, training, and technical assistance.
Dr Karengera further pointed out that currently, the centre was making nearly US$350,000 in school fees annually.
Dr. Karengera noted that the facility has also graduated the first cohort of 25 students and has also a second and third cohort going on with 40 students each from the six EAC countries.
Moreover, short courses in vaccines, immunization, and health supply chain management (VIHSCM) were also provided to 785 leaders while small research grants were issued to EAC practising VIHSCM cadres.
Mobilising resources for a healthy EAC
Germany’s Ministry of Economic and Cooperation Development fund, BMZ, also earlier this year allocated a US$30 Million kitty for the EAC’s immunization programme with GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance that will contribute to reducing child morbidity and mortality in the region.
The funds, according to a statement, will finance the procurement of at least four types of vaccines namely pentavalent, rotavirus, pneumococcal and measles second dose, to be made available for routine immunization and immunization campaigns for children in all six Partner States.
Amb. Regine Hess, the German ambassador to Tanzania, “We can look back to over 20 years of successful cooperation with the EAC Secretariat. We are committed to continuing this cooperation in key areas such as health, trade, and economic infrastructure; and technical and vocational education and training.”
She said that the cooperation particularly supports the youth in the region, adding that the younger generation in East Africa would benefit from the programmes.
The contributions to the big-catch up campaign
EAC’s current efforts especially through the RCE-VIHSCM are aimed at promoting regional and global efforts against zero dose and under-immunised children in the continent.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 67 million children missed at least one essential vaccination between 2019 and 2021 and 50 million of these didn’t receive any vaccines which set back childhood vaccination rates to their lowest level since 2008.
One in five children in the world’s poorest households today are ‘zero-dose’, meaning they have never received a vaccine of any kind, according to UNICEF’s 2023 State of the World’s Children report.
Additionally, the number of zero-dose and under-immunized African children rose by 16% between 2019 and 2021 to a cumulative total of about 33 million, nearly half the global figure.
Vaccine uptakes in most African countries, particularly in rural settings face challenges that include access to vaccines, a lack of adequately trained personnel to administer vaccines, non-existent or intermittent access to electricity to manage the cold chain, and frequent vaccine stock-outs at health facilities.
The Bloom Health report considers that as a low-cost, high-impact health intervention, immunisation can be a key driver of universal health coverage (UHC).
Given its crucial role in reducing the burden of disease on individuals, families and communities, concerted efforts are needed to expand vaccine coverage and uptake and to ensure Africans everywhere have access to the basic health services they need to survive and thrive.
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