Mapping policy architecture for vaccine research, development and manufacturing in Africa: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Despite the unprecedented speed of COVID-19 vaccine development, manufacturing capacity remained geographically concentrated and insufficient to meet global demand promptly and equitably. This constrained production capacity, together with domestic political pressures and market power asymmetries, contributed to vaccine nationalism. Therefore, to secure Africa’s future access to vaccines, the African Union has announced a bold vision to produce at least 60 percent of the vaccines consumed locally in Africa by 2040, as part of the broader health security and future pandemic response agenda. Achieving this vision requires proactive policy coherence and coordination across the continent to prevent duplication of efforts, waste and unhealthy competition. Consequently, this review aims to map, assess and compare the content of national, regional, and continental-level policies for vaccine R&D and manufacturing in Africa, generating actionable insights to inform coordinated strategies and advance the AU’s 2040 vaccine manufacturing goal. Methods and analysis The review will be conducted following the Arksey and O’Malley framework and in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodological guidance for scoping reviews. Reporting will adhere to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Policy instruments relevant to human vaccine R&D and manufacturing in Africa will be included as the primary unit of analysis. The sources of evidence are policy databases – Overton, Policy Commons, and ProQuest Policy File Index – as well as the official websites of relevant governments, regional and continental institutions. The search will focus on Africa, using key terms relating to vaccine policies. Two independent reviewers will screen the retrieved documents in Covidence, and data extraction will be conducted using a pretested template in Microsoft Excel 2021. This review does not require ethical approval. Conclusion The results will contribute to the academic literature on vaccine security and the policy architecture for vaccine R&D and manufacturing in Africa.