Kenya has formally joined the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) as a Member State, a move that is set to strengthen and accelerate the country's vaccine production capacity.

The country has been stepping up efforts to achieve self-reliance in vaccine production, President William Ruto said at the ceremony held to mark the country’s ratification of the IVI treaty at the agency’s headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, lauded this initiative adding this alliance will boost IVI’s Country Office in Nairobi and the Advancing Vaccine End-to-End Capabilities in Africa (AVEC Africa) programme with local and other African partners.

"We share a vision of strengthening a sustainable vaccine ecosystem—from industry to capacities to talent—to advance science, prevent disease, and save lives,” said Dr. Kim.

IVI is a non-profit global entity that was established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

With head offices in Seoul, IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, and COVID-19.

IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that also achieved WHO prequalification in early 2024.

During the ceremony, President Ruto raised the Kenyan flag and pointed out that increased vaccine availability will enhance the delivery of Kenya’s primary healthcare and adequately support disease prevention.

Dr Ruto said Kenya had learnt critical lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic challenges of accessing vaccines, and emphasised the commitment to reduce reliance on external manufacturers of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals.

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“The time has come for Africa to actualise health sovereignty by liberating itself from dependency on unsustainable frameworks, and accelerating initiatives to become self-sufficient in vaccine production,” he said.

The President said making vaccines universally accessible, regardless of nationality and status, is an urgent imperative that must be addressed.

“In vaccine production and supply terms, no one is safe until everyone is safe.”

George Bickerstaff, Chairperson of IVI’s Board of Trustees, said: “We are thrilled to celebrate the addition of Kenya to IVI’s state membership, a meaningful step forward as IVI and the Kenyan government continue to strengthen ties in pursuit of a common goal to develop end-to-end vaccine research, development, and manufacturing capabilities in the country and regionally."

According to Dr Ruto, a tripartite agreement between the IVI, Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology will further boost the continent’s plan for cutting-edge research and training, and consequently a resilient healthcare system.

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