"We cannot allow this situation to continue," said João Lourenço, while speaking this Wednesday in the Belgian capital at the Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI) Summit to discuss the 2026-2030 replenishment period.
The Angolan head of state also highlighted that vaccines continue to be one of the "simplest and most effective tools for protecting and prolonging life", recalling that Gavi intends to mobilise nine billion dollars to support the vaccination of 500 million children, saving between eight and nine million lives, over the next four years.
"Africa is united and committed to this cause. We ask the international community to also commit, because vaccinating a child is not just protecting a life, it is protecting the future through global health security," he said.
As president of the African Union, João Lourenço conveyed the message that "Africa is not just a beneficiary, Africa is ready to be a co-author of the new era of global immunisation".
"That is why we support Gavi's initiative to strengthen regional African vaccine production, within the framework of the AVMA [African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator] initiative," he stressed.
The continent believes that GAVI can also play a strategic role in supporting the introduction of new vaccines, especially against diseases that continue to disproportionately affect African countries and the most vulnerable populations globally, such as tuberculosis, malaria and dengue, João Lourenço said.
The President said that innovation "must go hand in hand with equity" and Africa is ready to be an active partner in the research and implementation of these next-generation solutions.
"We want technology transfer, strategic bilateral partnerships, scientific capacity building for our youth, we want affordable vaccines, made by Africans, for Africans and for the world," he said.
The African Union leader stressed that over the past 25 years, GAVI has been a trusted strategic partner, an effective multilateral instrument and a symbol of successful international solidarity.
"With an approach based on evidence, results and equity, GAVI has enabled more than 25 low-income African countries to expand access to vaccines, particularly new vaccines, which would otherwise be out of reach for millions of children," he stressed.
The Head of State acknowledged "with appreciation" GAVI's ongoing efforts to adapt its financial support models, including ongoing work to make middle-income countries eligible for innovative and sustainable forms of financing.
João Lourenço stressed that over the past four years, GAVI has channelled more than five billion dollars to the African continent, equivalent to more than 1 billion dollars per year.
"In 2023 alone, more than 700 million dollars were invested in Africa," he added, considering that "the impact is evident and transformative."
According to João Lourenço, Angola was one of the countries that directly benefited from "crucial support, notably the introduction of seven new vaccines, including those that protect against two of the three main causes of death in children under five, pneumonia and viral diarrhoea".
Angola will soon introduce the vaccine against the Human Papilloma Virus, to ensure a healthy life for young people, as well as the vaccine against malaria, the leading cause of death in the country, also highlighting the significant advances in the response to epidemic outbreaks of polio, Covid-19, measles and cholera.
Like other African countries, Angola has been training, with the support of GAVI, epidemiologists, logistics technicians, data managers and other essential specialities to ensure the effective planning and implementation of the Immunisation Programme, already starting "an ambitious specialisation programme for 38 thousand professionals in several critical areas".
