CNBC Africa: Op-ed: Africa needs an insurance policy against future epidemics
Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

“…[The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)] provides an entirely new way of financing and coordinating the development, manufacture, and testing of vaccines against epidemic threats — vaccines that otherwise wouldn’t get made. … Crucially, the vaccines that emerge from the CEPI process will be accessible and affordable to those populations in greatest need. African nations stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of these vaccines. … Partnership from African governments is therefore crucial to CEPI’s success. … In the longer-term, we hope partnership with CEPI will help countries to strengthen their own capacity for vaccine development and outbreak prevention by creating new partnerships and providing access to previously unavailable expertise. In short, engaging with CEPI will give African countries an insurance policy against future epidemics. … Epidemic preparedness requires more than just vaccines. They must also be accompanied by new treatments, diagnostic capabilities, better surveillance, greater regulatory capacity, and improved public health infrastructure. … [B]y getting involved at this stage, African partners can be an integral part of building the resilience to epidemics and pandemics that will protect the populations of the future” (5/5).