JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Although Africa suffers from the highest burden of infectious diseases, the continent currently produces less than 1% of its vaccine needs. In 2021, the African Union (AU) set a target to locally produce at least 60% of the continent’s vaccine needs by 2040. However, as at the time of developing this scoping review protocol, there is no consolidated, evidence-based framework for assessing national/regional “readiness” to establish or scale vaccine production.

Objective:

This protocol aims to describe a methodological approach that will be used to review existing literature to identify, map and synthesise the existing evidence on all relevant frameworks, indicator sets, and policy documents (global or national) developed pre and post COVID-19 pandemic that addresses readiness for local human-vaccine manufacturing with focus on African countries.

Methods:

This scoping review will be undertaken and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extensions for Scoping Reviews guidelines guided by the steps in Arksey-O’Malley and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). We will electronically search scientific databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science) and grey literature such as Google Scholar including grey literature. Only materials published in English, French, or Arabic the principal working languages of Africa’s current and planned vaccine-manufacturing hubs will be eligible, with no limits on publication type. Sources will largely pertain to African settings; date restrictions will be applied. Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by two researchers. Analysis will be conducted to summarize domains of African vaccine manufacturing readiness. Consistent with JBI guideline no critical appraisal will be performed on the quality of the articles/papers.

Results:

- Preliminary electronic database searches in PubMed have commenced and additional electronic searches in other relevant databases will be included. Retrieved articles are currently being screened and the entire study is expected to be completed before July 2026.

Conclusions:

The scoping review will be the first to identify, map and synthesise the existing evidence on all relevant frameworks, indicator sets, and policy documents (global or national) developed pre and post COVID-19 pandemic that addresses readiness for local human-vaccine manufacturing with focus on African countries. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication in a journal, conference presentation and condensed summaries for stakeholders through professional networks and social media summaries. Additionally, findings will be integrated into a PhD thesis on Country Readiness Assessment Index (CRAI) development.