A delegation of members from Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)’s Platform for Harmonized African Health Products Manufacturing (PHAHM) as well as representatives of African countries and economic regions visited the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut on 5 September 2024. The aim of the visit was to inform the delegation about the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut's regulatory tasks involved in the authorisation and monitoring of vaccines. A laboratory tour gave the delegates comprehensive insight into the technical infrastructure and processes used by the Institute to test the quality and efficacy of vaccines. The official requirements for vaccine authorisation, testing, and monitoring were clarified.
Source: Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
PHAHM and the EU project titled "Team Europe Initiative on manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies in Africa (MAV+)" organised the visit as part of a two-week educational tour of the vaccine and pharmaceutical ecosystem in Europe. One of the aims of this EU-project is to further strengthen the infrastructure for vaccine production and thus access to high-quality vaccines on the African continent. The visit to the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut provided a forum for a professional exchange on an international level that went beyond the scope of the EU project.
As part of the Global Health Protection Programme (GHPP) run by the Federal Ministry of Health (Bundesgesundheitsministerium, BMG), the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut is committed to expanding regulatory structures and processes in its African partner countries through the VaccTrain 2.0 and VaccRelease projects. The Institute also works with GIZ. The GHPP projects promote the approval and monitoring of clinical trials, medicinal product safety, and independent batch testing of locally produced vaccines, which is necessary for federal batch release. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut supports the project goals by regularly carrying out trainings for regulatory authorities in African partner countries and supporting the establishment of standardised regulatory procedures.
Updated: 09.09.2024
