Africa CDC on how the continent can meet its vaccination targets

African countries are facing challenges with vaccine shortages that are hindering the rollout of urgently needed second doses and setting many countries back in the fight against COVID-19. The question arises, is it still realistic for the continent to meet its previous vaccination targets? In a recent interview on CNBC Africa, Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discussed the current situation and the path forward for Africa's vaccination efforts. Dr. Nkengasong emphasized the importance of access to vaccines and urged countries with excess doses to release them to enable Africa to meet its vaccination targets. He highlighted the continent's plan to immunize 30% of the population by the end of 2021 and ramp it up to at least 60% by the end of 2022. To achieve this ambitious goal, Dr. Nkengasong stressed the need for a coordinated and speedy vaccination campaign to catch up with the fast-moving pandemic that is now pushing many African countries towards a third wave. Despite the challenges, he remained optimistic about the continent's ability to make significant progress if countries collaborate and leverage partnerships effectively. One key partnership highlighted in the interview was the $1.3 billion partnership between the AstraZeneca Foundation and the Africa CDC, aimed at supporting vaccine acquisition, rollout, capacity strengthening, and continental manufacturing. Dr. Nkengasong also discussed the continent's efforts to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa, with a goal to produce at least 60% of vaccines on the continent by 2040. While acknowledging the slow progress in meeting the Abuja declaration of committing 15% of annual budgets to health, Dr. Nkengasong expressed hope that the pandemic would serve as a wake-up call for countries to prioritize health investment and build resilient health systems for the future.