Gavi's impact in Africa since 2000
Through our current partnerships with 39 African countries in 2024, Gavi supports routine immunisation programmes to give children an equal chance of a healthier and more productive future.
- 2 May 2024
- 4 min read
- by Gavi Staff
Gavi’s mission is to save lives and protect people’s health by increasing equitable and sustainable use of vaccines. Our work is driven by country needs and priorities. Gavi supports countries to strengthen primary health care (PHC) through innovative partnerships that address challenges of access to immunisation, including gender-related barriers.
By improving access to new and under-used vaccines for millions of the most vulnerable children, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is transforming the lives of individuals, helping to boost the economies of countries and making the world safer for everyone. By leveraging the strength of the Vaccine Alliance to improve child health and PHC, we are working in support of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Immunisation protects the health of communities, reduces the number of people forced into poverty, and gives children an equal chance of a healthier and more productive future.
Gavi’s support helps improve global health security by reducing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks that have epidemic and pandemic potential. Crucial to this engagement is Gavi’s support for emergency vaccine stockpiles to protect against the epidemic-prone diseases cholera, Ebola, meningococcal meningitis and yellow fever.
Overview: Gavi portfolio in Africa (2000–2022)
- 40 country partners since 2000
- 18 infectious diseases are part of Gavi’s vaccine portfolio in Africa as of April 2024 – including COVID-19, Ebola and malaria
- >US$ 11.9bn disbursed in Gavi-supported African countries
(58% of overall Gavi disbursements) - >US$ 941.8m co-financed by African countries since 2008
- 438m unique children reached with routine immunisation in Africa
- 11.1m future deaths averted in Africa1
Combating cervical cancer
Between 2014 and 2022, more than 12.3m girls in Africa have been immunised against human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer, and more than 27 African countries had introduced the HPV vaccine with Gavi support.1 In December 2022, the Gavi Board approved the revitalisation of the Alliance’s HPV vaccine programme with a US$ 600m+ investment through 2025 – aiming to reach 86m+ girls and prevent 1.4m+ future deaths from cervical cancer.
Driving progress through partnership
Investing in health care is essential to sustainable development: as children become healthier, they, their families, communities and countries are more able to be economically prosperous and socially stable. Through our current partnerships with 39 African countries, Gavi supports routine immunisation programmes to strengthen access to and delivery of PHC as a pathway towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This African Vaccination Week, partners celebrated 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) – the impact of which Gavi was established in 2000 to expand. Click here to read more about these partnerships.
Have you read?
World’s first malaria vaccines
Gavi supports the roll-out of the world’s first malaria vaccines and has already allocated 80 million doses to high-risk populations in 22 African countries, aiming to reach 9.7 million children in 2024 alone.
Sustainable financing
African governments have increased considerably their co-financing of Gavi-supported vaccines over the last ten years – from US$ 15 million in 2010 to more than US$ 101 million in 2022. This sustained investment is in alignment with the Addis Declaration on Immunization commitment to “increase and sustain domestic investments and funding allocations for immunisation.” By end 2022, African governments had invested more than US$ 941 million in co-financing of Gavi-supported vaccines. Out of 39 country partners currently supported by Gavi in Africa, 7 countries, representing a large share of the African population (31%), are expected to transition out of Gavi support by 2030.
Through the Global Action Plan – Sustainable Financing for Health Accelerator, Gavi has strengthened partnerships with the Global Fund, World Bank, Global Financing Facility (GFF), World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) in key African countries to advance sustainable financing for health. This will support countries to mobilise domestic resources for health and improve health spending, while enabling development partners and countries to align on joint financing.
Addressing inequities in immunisation, reaching zero-dose children
By end 2022, Africa was home to more than 8.3 million ‘zero-dose’ children who have not received even a single vaccine shot; 1 million of these children live in countries facing fragility. To reach them, Gavi’s 2021–2025 strategy brings a much stronger focus on reaching the most marginalised by strengthening PHC systems; building and sustaining community demand; addressing gender-related barriers; and bringing innovative approaches to ensure that immunisation services reach these children.
Immunisation protects the health of communities, reduces the number of people forced into poverty, and gives children an equal chance of a healthier and more productive future.
In Africa, continued commitment by country governments and local authorities; support from Vaccine Alliance partners; civil society engagement; and the voices of vaccine champions will be pivotal to attaining vaccine equity – both between and within countries.
1. Based on estimates of impact from the Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium (VIMC) using the 2022 WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC), July 2023
More from Gavi Staff
