Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have initiated an inquiry into a funding gap facing the EAC Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunisation and Health Supply Chain Management based in Kigali. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s vaccine production, economic inclusion get €95 million boost from EU The centre hosted at the University of Rwanda (UR) is one of six EAC Regional Centres of Excellence for Skills and Tertiary Education in Higher Medical and Health Sciences Education, Health Services and Research. It was established to contribute to improving the health of people in the East African Community by building supply chain management capacity among EAC personnel and serving as a regional focal point for introducing and disseminating innovative and proven procedures in health supply chain management. The centre currently offers four master's programmes in Health Supply Chain Management, Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality Assurance, Vaccinology and Regulatory Affairs. Its management said it needs about €16 million (approx. Rwf26.5 billion) to be able to function in the next three years and that funding gap could reach €24 million (approx. Rwf40.6 billion) in five years. The centre's financial needs will increase as it seeks to serve more countries beyond eight EAC member states. ALSO READ: BioNTech's vaccine plant in Rwanda gets over Rwf180bn boost EALA members began the oversight visit to the centre on September 21 to 25. The exercise is intended to facilitate a better understanding of the EAC Regional Centres of Excellence, strengthen knowledge-sharing among EAC partner states, inform recommendations and renew commitment to health research, innovation, preparedness, access to medicines and quality assurance. MP Kayonga Caroline Rwivanga, said the findings and recommendations from the oversight activity would contribute to EALA’s report on the performance of the Regional Centres of Excellence and inform subsequent recommendations to the EALA assembly. MP David Ole Sankok, Chair of the EALA General Purpose Committee, said financial sustainability remains a pressing challenge for the centre, particularly amid reduced external support and limited contributions from partner states. East African Legislative Assembly's role is oversight and budgeting. We are identifying the funding gaps and then, during our budgeting process, we will be able to allocate more resources to this Centre of Excellence because we believe in it, Sankok said. Then we will go and debate, analyse and try to come up with ways of making sure that this centre is sustainable. Because without sustainability, we may end up not achieving what we want to achieve with the Centre of Excellence,” he said. “East Africa is quite a vast area, with a population of 350 million people and a landmass of 1.4 billion acres,” he said. “So, to be able to have a Centre of Excellence like this one is a blessing to the whole African community.” A look at the funding gap John Patrick Mwesigye, Director the EAC centre, said it requires €15.7 million to implement its programmes over the next three years, while the funding gap is expected to reach €24 million over the next five years. ALSO READ: Rwanda to introduce vaccine against six cancers He said the centre is also expanding its programmes beyond the EAC region, increasing the financial resources required to meet its growing responsibilities. “There is another capacity building programme for drug manufacturing. We have now to serve 14 countries instead of eight. That is now East Africa regional capability network, an initiative to strengthen workforce capabilities and expand local vaccine and health product manufacturing across the region,” Mwesigye said. He added that the centre is expected to work with countries including Ethiopia, Eritrea and Madagascar, in collaboration with Africa CDC, requiring additional funding. “We need more $71 million in the next five years in drug manufacturing, vaccines, supply chain and quality assurance,” he said. According to Mwesigye, the funding would enable the centre to train about 2,000 people through master's degree programmes and another 3,000 through short courses over the next five years. “We need predictable annual EAC Budget to support a dedicated annual budget provision for EAC Regional Centres of Excellence within the EAC budget framework. We need long-term regional financing to support a sustainable financing framework combining EAC with diversified revenue sources,” he said. Mwesigye also called for high-level engagement with EAC partner states, development partners and financing institutions to mobilise complementary resources. He said the centre’s expansion is linked to the region’s broader efforts to strengthen local pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing capacity, improve health supply chains and develop specialised skills. Regional health security Françoise Kayitare Tengera, Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Finance at the University of Rwanda, said the centre represents an important component of the EAC’s efforts to build self-reliance. “We see the centre as an important expression of the East African Community's commitment to building regional capacity, strengthening our health systems and developing solutions to challenges that affect our people across the region. Apart from the Centre for Vaccines, we host another big and successful East African Community Regional Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Engineering and E-Health,” she said. Fidelis Mironko, Permanent Secretary at Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said the centre contributes to regional health security through initiatives such as the EAC pooled procurement mechanism. He said such initiatives are helping to strengthen health supply chains, improve access to quality health products and support the development of the pharmaceutical industry in the region. He said the centre's long-term financial sustainability remains a serious concern. “We call on the East African Legislative Assembly to advocate for Partner States to contribute and support the running of the centre. This is key to ensuring predictable and sustainable financing and, on the other hand, contributing to stronger regional ownership, strategic partnerships and innovative resource mobilisation, which are essential to safeguarding the Centre's future,” he said.
