The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Mastercard Foundation have launched a new phase of their Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative, aiming to bolster Africa’s public health systems. This new phase comes after the World Health Organisation declared the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, both organisations highlighted that their ongoing partnership is designed to strengthen public health infrastructure across the continent. The Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative was created to procure COVID-19 vaccines, facilitate vaccination rollouts, build vaccine manufacturing capacity, and ensure long-term health security for Africa. This initiative has already helped raise the continent’s vaccination rate to 53% of the target population, up from a mere 3% at its inception.

The partnership also focuses on health worker training, having trained and deployed 38,000 health workers and creating 23,000 job opportunities. It has integrated over 600 COVID-19 vaccination centres into existing healthcare systems, and expanded genomic testing capabilities from 7 to 40 laboratories across Africa.

A review by Deloitte of Phase One of the initiative, which involved 15 implementing partners in 29 countries, showed that the funds were used efficiently and effectively. Ongoing monitoring by KPMG also confirmed that the initiative has helped partners achieve strong programmatic results and strengthened their institutional capacity, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, expressed optimism about the impact of this initiative: “Our Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative with the Mastercard Foundation has shown the power of respectful and action-oriented partnerships rooted in collaboration, coordination, and systems strengthening. The experience and learnings from Phase I will enable us to move with greater speed and scale to deliver with accelerated impact to our member states.”

In the second phase, the partnership will focus on completing vaccination efforts for healthcare workers and vulnerable populations. It will also build a community health workforce, improve pandemic preparedness, expand laboratory capacities, enhance data quality and access, and promote local manufacturing of vaccines and diagnostics. Additionally, Africa CDC will continue to strengthen national public health institutions.

Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, reiterated the importance of continued investments: “While the global pandemic may be declared over, the need to continue investing in our health systems, build our workforce, and prepare for future pandemics remains urgent.”

The Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative, launched in June 2021 as a $1.5 billion partnership, is a pioneering example of African-led solutions for health challenges. It highlights the importance of partnerships in shaping a New Public Health Order for Africa and reinforces Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation’s shared commitment to improving health outcomes across the continent.