The COVID-19 pandemic exposed East Africa's limited control over vaccines and medical supplies, prompting lawmakers to seek solutions. Members of the East African Legislative Assembly's Committee on General Purpose visited Kigali to discuss the Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunization and Health Supply Chain Management. The centre, hosted by the University of Rwanda, aims to train specialists in vaccine management, pharmaceutical quality control, and supply chains.
The centre, established in 2014 and launched in 2016, has trained nearly 500 students through its master's programs and over 3,000 others through short courses. Its officials say the centre is crucial in addressing the region's health security vulnerabilities. However, its future is uncertain due to the challenge of securing external financing. The committee chairperson, David Ole Sankok, stated that the assembly would consider allocating more resources to the centre through the regional budget.
The pandemic demonstrated the consequences of Africa's dependence on external sources for critical medical products. John Patrick Mwesigye, the centre's director, said that when the pandemic hit, Africa realized it was difficult to navigate the global village. Countries faced difficulties forecasting demand, securing supplies, maintaining cold chains, assuring pharmaceutical quality, and distributing products efficiently. The centre is working to build expertise in these areas.
The centre is involved in an effort to address the region's fragmented purchasing power. East African countries typically negotiate separately with suppliers, but the centre is working on a system for governments to combine information about their demand and negotiate jointly for some medical products. Products worth about $94 million have been identified for the initiative. This could give governments more leverage when negotiating prices and supplies.
Ambassador Fidelis Mironko, Permanent Secretary at Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that development partners had helped support the centre, but long-term financing should increasingly come from EAC member states. Predictable financing will strengthen regional ownership and open space for strategic partnerships and new approaches to resource mobilization.
Somalia, which joined the EAC in 2024, sees a wider opportunity in the centre's regional role. Ilham Ali Gasser, a Somali member of the EALA delegation, said Somalia could use exchanges with Rwanda and other EAC countries to develop technical capacity as it rebuilds its institutions. She pointed to Rwanda's experience over the past three decades as something Somalia could study.
The EAC's effort to train specialists, pool purchasing power, and develop regional pharmaceutical capacity is an attempt to address the region's health security vulnerabilities. The centre's regional role is crucial in ensuring that East Africa is better prepared for future health emergencies.
Key points
- East African lawmakers are pushing for greater regional financing for the Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunization and Health Supply Chain Management.
- The centre has trained nearly 500 students through its master's programs and over 3,000 others through short courses.
- The centre is working on a system for governments to combine information about their demand and negotiate jointly for some medical products worth about $94 million.
