Biovac’s cholera vaccine test for Africa’s self-reliance

What the report says

The Independent Uganda reports that Africa’s push to manufacture more vaccines locally is entering a practical phase through a new investment in South Africa’s Biovac. According to the report, the African Development Bank Group has approved a loan of up to $15 million for the Biologicals and Vaccines Institute of South Africa to support a multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town. The project is expected to make Biovac Africa’s first end-to-end producer of oral cholera vaccine by 2028.

The report frames the investment against Africa’s wider goal of eliminating cholera by 2030 and reducing heavy dependence on imported vaccines. It says the continent currently imports more than 99% of the vaccines it uses, while the African Union has set a target for 60% of vaccines used in Africa to be produced locally by 2040. Biovac’s expanded facility is projected to raise annual capacity to as many as 500 million doses, beginning with cholera vaccines and later adding products for polio, pneumonia and meningitis.

The Independent also notes that cholera remains a major public health concern, citing about 130,000 cases and 2,700 deaths in Africa as of May 2025. The report links Biovac’s expansion to commitments made by cholera-affected African countries under Africa CDC coordination, including stronger surveillance, improved coordination, water and sanitation investment, community engagement and local manufacturing.

The article adds that factory capacity alone may not guarantee success. It points to Gavi’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, launched in 2024, as a mechanism intended to help African manufacturers reach viable markets through incentives tied to WHO prequalification and vaccine supply.