The Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) under the auspices of the African Union (AU) wishes to invite you to participate in a High-Level Policy Dialogue on Vaccine Development and Equitable, Universal Access to Essential Vaccines and Vaccination in Africa. The dialogue will be held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria on 25 and 26 November 2021 starting from 9.00 am GMT | 10 am Nigeria | 11.00 am South Africa | 12.00 pm Ethiopia.

This High-Level Policy Dialogue is the next crucial step following the launch of the joint initiative by CoDA and the Igbinedion University Teaching Hospital (IUTH)
on the Development of Vaccines and Equitable, Universal Access to Essential Vaccines and Vaccination in Africa. It is part of a roadmap to implement the aforementioned initiative which was launched in response to Africa’s over-dependence on vaccine imports – a situation made clear by the continent’s current struggle to access COVID-19 vaccines. Indeed, this overdependence has exposed Africa to vulnerabilities in terms of its preparedness for future vaccine-preventable epidemics and pandemics, while exacerbating the challenges already faced by its national public health systems.

Accordingly, the organizers seek to support the development and holistic implementation of this initiative by bringing together stakeholders from the relevant sectors on the continent. Thus effectively initiating the establishment of mechanisms and the proposal of policies that will help increase Africa’s capacity to develop, produce and facilitate access to vaccines and vaccination on the continent.