AU-EU Health Partnerships

💊 Manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies (MAV+)

The MAV+ hub tackles barriers to manufacturing and access to health products and technologies in Africa in close alignment with African strategies and priorities.

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The challenge

Every year, over 10 million people, primarily in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), die needlessly due to lack of access to essential medicines. In 2011, a HAI/WHO report revealed that over half of Africa’s population lacks access to essential medicines due to availability issues, and in 2015 alone, approximately 1.6 million Africans died from diseases that are preventable or treatable with timely access to health products such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV-related illnesses.

Africa currently imports over 99% of the vaccines and 94% of the medicines it uses. As the COVID-19 pandemic made clear, this dependence on imports contributes to inequitable access to health products and to adverse health outcomes. 

The response

In response to the call from African leaders to produce 60% of vaccines in Africa by 2040, the Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies in Africa (MAV+) was launched in 2021. MAV+ is a comprehensive support package tackling barriers to manufacturing and access to health products and technologies in Africa that is tightly aligned with African strategies and priorities.

The objective of MAV+

The overall objective of MAV+ is to facilitate access to quality, safe, effective and affordable health products as outlined in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.8.

MAV+ focuses on 3 dimensions:

1. Supply
2. Demand
3. Enabling environment

Across 6 workstreams:

1. Industrial development, supply chains and private sector
2. Market shaping, demand, and trade facilitation
3. Regulatory strengthening
4. Technology transfer and intellectual property management
5. Access to finance
6. R&D, higher education, and skills

MAV+ is aligned with the EU’s Global Health Strategy and Global Gateway strategy as well as the Framework for Action from the Africa CDC’s Platform for Harmonized African Health Products Manufacturing, and it complements other Team Europe Initiatives working on health and social protection in Africa.