Strengthening Pandemic Vaccine Preparedness in Africa (SPAVPA) 2.0: Lessons from African countries with high and low COVID-19 vaccination rates

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges worldwide, forcing communities and governments to adapt in different ways. While some countries had the resources to respond effectively, many African nations faced significant barriers. Despite as a continent having the lowest global COVID-19 vaccination rates, a few African countries achieved remarkable success in vaccine uptake. This diversity in outcomes makes Africa an ideal region to study vaccine preparedness and identify factors that influence vaccination efforts in resource-limited settings. This project investigates COVID-19 vaccination rates in Africa through a systematic review of upstream factors and regression modeling of key drivers influencing vaccine deployment. The goal is to uncover the key drivers of vaccine uptake and other critical factors that affect pandemic response. In collaboration with Ministries of Health, the Africa CDC, WHO Africa, and other stakeholders, we will focus on 12 African countries to conduct in-depth, qualitative pairwise comparisons of nations with similar contexts but differing vaccination outcomes. The findings will be used to create a practical framework to improve vaccine preparedness in low-resource settings. By identifying what works and why, this project will not only provide strategies to strengthen vaccination efforts across Africa but will also contribute valuable insights to enhance global pandemic preparedness.