Collecting Evidence to Inform COVID-19 Vaccine Procurement Decisions

IDSi and Africa CDC made it! Real-value toolkit through innovative collaboration

Amidst the turmoil stemming from the COVID-19 situation, here is good news: an invaluable resource to deploy and accelerate COVID-19 response strategies where it is needed the most.

The outcome of outstanding research by our friends at IDSi, CGD in collaboration with the Africa CDC, this brings incredible value to countries committed to procuring technologies to address the COVID-19 situation:

This toolkit aims to support technical staff and decision-makers in countries that are interested in using Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to inform the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.

It brings real-world evidence management advice, it triggers sharp organizational acumen to help strengthen procurement processes, but not only! It contextualises technology procurement to ensure health stewards are enabled to take evidence-based informed decisions.

Click here  to access the toolkit on the CGD website. In sum and in the words of its authors:

After introducing the HTA process, it focuses on evidence collection, outlining the types of information useful to make informed decisions, and options for frameworks to harness data.

However, this summary does not reflect on the depth of the work and the value added by the tool. To help understand the scope and magnitude of what was achieved through this collaborative toolkit, our friends and distinguished colleagues Tom Drake and Y-Ling Chi from the Centre for Global Development (CGD) offer invaluable insight into the narrative of the toolkit.

Whether you are interested in its premises and rationale, its inception and design, the data and analytics they use and of course the innovative partnership with the Africa CDC, our advice is: you simply need to read this blog entry!

Click here to read the blog on the CDG website!

We cannot resist to quote the conclusive remark of the blog which perfectly captures the quintessence of public health priorities in the region:

We also hope it conveys an important message for leaders in high income countries: low-income countries cannot finance high levels of COVID-19 vaccine coverage without jeopardising essential services and the benefits of increased vaccine coverage will extend well beyond Africa.

Enjoy your read!