The CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr Sania Nishtar, has highlighted Rwanda’s growing potential to serve as a regional hub for pandemic preparedness and response, citing its strong health systems and expanding infrastructure. Dr Nishtar, who has been in Rwanda since early this week for a high-level meeting between Gavi and representatives of partner countries, shared the assessment in an interview with The New Times. She also spoke about Africa’s vaccine manufacturing ambitions and efforts to improve access to life-saving vaccines. The meeting, dubbed Gavi Workshop 6.0, is setting guidelines for the alliance’s 2026–2030 strategic period. It outlines how countries can plan and prioritise immunisation programmes under Gavi support, and how to access additional assistance, including outbreak and emergency funding. “Because we help vaccinate six out of ten children globally, it is critical that we get our strategy right and work closely with countries, which are at the forefront of immunisation,” she said. Gavi officially entered its new strategic cycle in January 2026. To improve efficiency and expand coverage, the alliance has introduced a reform plan known as the Gavi Leap, a simplified operating model designed to ease engagement with countries. The approach streamlines processes, accelerates vaccine grant approvals, and reduces costs by bringing support closer to national systems. Despite the reforms, Dr Nishtar acknowledged a funding gap. Of the $11.9 billion required for the 2026–2030 period, $10 billion has so far been secured. “Yes, there is a shortfall of $1.9 billion, but given the scale of global funding cuts, this is still a strong outcome,” she said. “We are also encouraged that countries which once received Gavi support are now contributing as donors.” Rwanda is among those countries. The government pledged $1 million during Gavi’s 2025 replenishment drive, a move Dr Nishtar described as a strong vote of confidence in the alliance. Learning from Rwanda’s health system Beyond the meeting, Dr Nishtar said her delegation sought to observe Rwanda’s health system firsthand. “We wanted to engage with the Ministry of Health and pay our respects to President Paul Kagame, who has been a strong champion of immunisation,” she said. She commended Rwanda’s consistently high vaccination coverage, noting that uptake for Gavi-supported vaccines exceeds 90 per cent. Positioning Rwanda for future pandemics Dr Nishtar said Rwanda’s progress in healthcare delivery and infrastructure places it in a strong position to serve as a pandemic response hub. “We believe Rwanda can play a major role in pandemic preparedness, readiness and response in the future,” she said. She pointed to key pillars such as robust disease surveillance systems, a well-functioning primary healthcare network, and effective cross-sector coordination. Other critical components include access to therapeutics, essential supplies like syringes, laboratory capacity, and environmental surveillance systems. During the visit, the delegation toured a syringe manufacturing facility and noted ongoing efforts to establish mRNA vaccine production capacity in the country. Boosting vaccine manufacturing in Africa On broader continental efforts, Dr Nishtar said Gavi has been at the forefront of supporting vaccine manufacturing in Africa, including a $1.2 billion financing instrument. “During Covid-19, Africa was at the back of the queue. That must never happen again,” she said. In response, Gavi launched the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), a subsidy mechanism aimed at promoting commercial vaccine production on the continent. Under AVMA, manufacturers receive milestone-based payments upon achieving key benchmarks such as WHO prequalification for priority vaccines. Subsidies range from $15 million to $30 million, with additional incentives of $0.30 to $0.50 per dose for companies that secure Gavi tenders. “We hope African manufacturers will benefit from these incentives and help build a sustainable ecosystem,” she said. Dr Nishtar added that Gavi is exploring further improvements to the initiative, including pre-financing mechanisms and broader support to strengthen the vaccine manufacturing landscape in Africa.
