From research to impact: How VACFA is transforming vaccine policy in Africa
This year’s World Immunization Week, a global public health campaign, is themed: “Immunization for all is humanly possible”. This slogan echoes the vision of the University of Cape Town’s Vaccines for Africa Initiative (VACFA) of creating an African continent free of vaccine-preventable diseases. The work of VACFA, established in 2005, spans research, postgraduate training, capacity building and technical support across numerous African countries.
Based at the university’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, VACFA’s work is made particularly effective through its ability to link research to policy and practice. The unit doesn’t pursue research only for the sake of academic publishing, it conducts research to drive impact.
“At VACFA, we pride ourselves on serving as the bridge between research and translation,” said Dr Benjamin Kagina, co-director of the initiative. “This allows us to identify bottlenecks in translating research evidence into policy and respond accordingly.”
Their research and other work thus spans from very specific vaccine programmes, such as prenatal and infant vaccination regimens or the eradication of a particular virus, to supporting national policy frameworks through evidence-based research and capacity building.