1st June 2024
As COVID-19 vaccines started being administered in late 2020 and early 2021, the members of the Africa Partners Collective were co-designing a pooled fund with Africa CDC and the Africa Public Health Foundation. The goal was to accelerate the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines to some of the most vulnerable populations, in line with national plans.
Africa CDC requested a flexible fund of $10 million be established to set up and equip COVID-19 Vaccination Centres and begin to vaccinate priority groups in areas particularly affected by the pandemic.
After a period of consultation and co-design, the first commitment was made by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, with others including the Rockefeller Foundation, LGT Venture Philanthropy, the UBS Optimus Foundation and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation joining soon after.
The Africa Public Health Foundation, a Nairobi-based entity established by Africa CDC to assist the agency with resource mobilisation, was the primary fund manager. All work was delivered in alignment and agreement with national plans, led by the Ministries of Health in Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia and Zambia.
Overall, as a result of this collective initiative 1,766,553 people were vaccinated, 18,744 health workers trained and 1,415 vaccination centres and facilities supported.
The flexibility of partners allowed APHF and Africa CDC to respond to a requests from governments that needed rapid mobilisation. This included instances where donated vaccine stock would have expired had funding for transport and distribution not been readily available.
The fund also allowed Africa CDC to respond to a request from the government of Cameroon to support the COVID-19 vaccination drive around the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022.
With one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world, health workers in Cameroon were struggling to persuade a reluctant population to get the jab. As the Africa Cup of Nations got underway, fans were obliged to show their vaccination certificates to gain entry to stadiums. Africa CDC and APHF worked with the Ministry of Health and local partners to offer both vaccination and testing facilities at the stadiums and a media campaign as part of the tournament while providing outreach to local areas to increase immunisation levels.
By pooling funds together, members of the Collective were able to have a wider view of the programme in delivery, leverage other funding and enable partners to streamline reporting. This approach also allowed Africa CDC to determine how best to allocate and expend resources in line with budget categories, with an eye towards efficiency and putting mission delivery first.
Alice Kabunda, AMREF Zambia and Hazel Kasimba, Community Health Technologist, at Petauke Urban Clinic, Zambia