A budget of US$638 million will finance the second Phase of Saving Lives and Livelihood Second Phase running from August 2024 to December 2025.
Africa CDC and Mastercard Foundation resumed this Phase with two joint microplanning workshops in Addis Ababa from 5-8 June and another in Kigali from 11-13 July. The third joint workshop will be held in Algeria this September 2024.
"The SLL second phase has initiated new strategic priorities given that WHO has declassified COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)," said Dr Mosoka Fallah, Program Manager SLL, Africa Center for Disease Control.
The four strategic objectives reflect the shared vision of the Director General of Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation for Africa that is better prepared for the next pandemic, which feeds into the vision of the SLL phase II: protecting healthcare workers, integrating COVID-19 into the primary healthcare system in fulfillment of the African Union Agenda 2030, preparing the continent for the next pandemic, including investment in genomic sequencing and lab diagnostics, community health workers programme and local manufacturing strengthening Africa CDC capacity.
Dr Fallah said incomplete critical tasks in Phase I are expected to be finished in Phase II. These include cold-chain equipment distribution to member states, ongoing in-country logistics, and the procurement of personal protective equipment. Other activities have been modified based on new realities. These include the shift from COVID-19-specific Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) activities to integrated RCCE to support overall immunization and the change from a COVID Vaccine Center to an integrated immunization center within health facilities.
"One major change in phase II is shifting from country-level microplanning to joint microplanning and a transition from comprehensive intervention packages to a variation in the intervention package depending on the country," said Dr Fallah. The 29 member states implementing the SLL program before the pause due to the WHO declaration will receive a complete intervention package under the first three objectives of Phase II.
Secondly, the 16 countries that had approved micro-plans but did not begin implementation will receive a selective intervention package, which includes infection prevention and control capacity building, in-country logistics support, PPE and laboratory and genomic sequencing support, he said. The latter applies to newly onboarded countries to the SLL programme.
"As we embark on SLL phase 2, it is critical to sustain the gains, capitalize on the successes and best practices, and work to address the challenges we faced during the implementation of phase I," said Dr Raji Tajudeen, Ag. Deputy Director General of Africa CDC. "This phase 2 implementation would be critical to address the overwhelming burdens we have on the continent," he said, adding that, for example, 56% of the 14.3 million children who missed zero-dose vaccination are in Africa. "More importantly, most of the outbreaks Africa faces today are vaccine-preventable, so strengthening the immunization systems in Africa is critical."
Dr Tajudeen spoke at a Joint Microplanning Workshop to review priorities and affirm countries' national plans for implementing SLL Phase II in Kigali.
SLL Phase 2 has four critical objectives aligned with the Africa CDC strategic plan of 2023-2027. The intention at this implementation stage is to protect the healthcare workers, integrate COVID-19 management or resources into routine immunization, prepare for the next pandemic, and strengthen the capacity of Africa CDC.
Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation birthed a transformative partnership dubbed the "Saving Lives and Livelihood" initiative in June 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fundamental goal was to provide a holistic approach to remedy vaccine inequities and minimize operational challenges affecting the continental COVID-19 response.
The African Union and the Mastercard Foundation signed an agreement to give a $1.5 billion grant to the Africa CDC to provide COVID-19 vaccines to 70% of the eligible African population, making it the largest single donation to the Africa CDC for public health intervention.
"Strategic approach of the corporation, actively listening to all parties, and open dialogue are key success factors for SLL phase one implementation," said Rosemary Nduhiu, Mastercard Foundation, Executive Director for Country Programs, at the meeting in Kigali.
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"We managed to vaccinate over 32 million people against COVID, created over 25,000 jobs and managed to build over 40 laboratories across Africa," she said, outlining the impact of SLL phase one.
SLL phase 1 procured and deployed 44,000 Cold Chain Equipment to support vaccine distribution across 32 African Union Member States and administered approximately 35 million vaccine doses across Member States, trained and deployed more than 38,000 health workers, increased the number of African Genomic Sequencing Laboratories from 2 to 40 and sstrengthened Africa CDC capabilities through recruiting, training and deploying nearly 100 new staff.
The SLL model also prioritized the recruitment of African-based and African-led organizations as regional implementing partners, such as Amref Health Africa, African Society for Laboratory Medicine, AKROSS Research, a Zambian non-governmental organization, Infectious Disease Institute, Africa Medical Supplies Platform and Global Health Systems and Solutions among others. "This continued collaboration and delivery of impact is what we look forward to in phase II," said Nduhiu.
