For the 10th consecutive year, the University of Cape Town’s Vaccines for Africa Initiative (VACFA) has successfully hosted the annual African Vaccinology Course at the Upper East Side Hotel, Woodstock, Cape Town. Under the leadership of Prof Gregory Hussey, Director of VACFA, and with generous funding from GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, MSD Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Pasteur and Pfizer, the course provides a unique opportunity for researchers, medical practitioners and public health administrators wishing to gain detailed insight and knowledge about vaccinology and challenges in the uptake of vaccines on the continent.

Prof Tania Douglas, Deputy Dean for Research, at the Faculty of Health Sciences officially welcomed the participants at a cocktail function, highlighting the critical need for skilled vaccinologists in Africa. Based in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM), VACFA’s vision, she explained, is an Africa free of vaccine-preventable diseases.

“The course has become very popular, with a total of 67 participants from 23 different African countries participating in this year’s 2014 course,” said Prof Hussey. Since inception, the course has trained over 800 participants from almost all African countries. The Vaccinology course is intended to benefit vaccinology programme managers, doctors involved in vaccination programs as well as basic scientists involved in vaccines research within the African continent.

Focussing on the aims of the 10th Annual Vaccinology Course, Prof Hussey said they were to provide participants with essential expertise to support national immunisation programmes, build sustainable research capacity for vaccine development and conducting high quality phase 1-lV vaccine trials in Africa, and foster communication and networking among African vaccinologists

In one of the now very popular course sessions “meet the specialist”, participants had the opportunity to ask any vaccine-related question or challenges faced on the ground. Some questions were on vaccine advocacy and introducing new vaccines: both questions pivotal to increasing vaccine uptake on the continent. The course was presented by local and international experts in the field of vaccinology and immunology - from academia, industry and private practice.

In closing the course, Prof. Hussey commented on the exceptional quality of the participants for the 2014 course. The participants were overwhelmingly positive in their feedback on the contents and structure of the training.

Article by Linda Rhoda