Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani is on a mission to Paris today to attend the event “Protecting Our Future – The Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation”.
The event, organised by France, the African Union and Gavi (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, a public-private partnership to ensure vaccine coverage in the poorest countries), represents a high-level opportunity to launch the “African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA)” initiative, conceived by Gavi in collaboration with the “Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention”.
AVMA is a financing tool that aims to contribute to the growth of the vaccine manufacturing industry in Africa by making up to USD 1 billion available to beneficiary countries over the next ten years. This will enable them to purchase more than 800 million doses of locally produced vaccines, with the goal of producing at least 60% of the vaccine doses required on the continent by 2040.
Deputy Prime Minister Tajani will announce Italy’s participation in the initiative and its contribution of USD 150 million, making the country one of the main donors. Italy will also contribute by directly involving its national pharmaceutical system to support the development of African health systems.
“Italy strongly supports the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. The recent pandemic has proven how essential it is to have fair access to vaccines worldwide,” said Minister Tajani. “It is our duty to save lives and strengthen health systems in African countries. The Italian Government is strengthening its national ‘sovereignty’ in the health, pharmaceutical and vaccine fields. This conference in Paris is an opportunity for us to export our know-how to Africa. By supporting AVMA, also in line with the spirit of the Mattei Plan, we want African nations to be more than just aid recipients. We want them to play a leading role in a cooperation among equals for common growth,” concluded Tajani.
The meeting in Paris will be attended, among others, by President of the French Republic Macron, President of Gavi Barroso, German Chancellor Scholz, UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Cameron, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Urpilainen, and the Chairpersons of the African Union Commission of Mauritania (African Union Chairmanship), Senegal and Botswana.
