A study assessing the vaccine procurement and financing landscape in Cameroon from 2015 to 2020 revealed complexity, protracted timelines, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders. Through desk review and in-depth interviews, major bottlenecks were identified, including delayed fund mobilization, inefficient and lengthy processes for fund mobilization and disbursement, poor data utilization, and discrepancies between forecasted, allocated, and mobilized funds. The Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) faced a US$4 million funding deficit for vaccine procurement between 2016 and 2019. Consequently, the program experienced delays in acquiring 20 million vaccine doses, leading to 41 months of stockout for at least one antigen.
These insights are essential for fostering collaboration between government agencies, technical partners, and financial partners to achieve sustainable vaccine access in Cameroon. Establishing a joint procurement working group could streamline processes, potentially reducing stockouts and improving vaccine coverage.
In Cameroon, co-financing requirements with Gavi have been met in time since the identification of the bottlenecks and the decision to resolve them; however, the country continues to face similar challenges for other programs where co-financing is required. As a result, the authors recommend countries to use similar approaches and funders to ensure that such systems are set up, not only for vaccines but for other vital public health programs. In the context of immunization, these approaches can be relevant for countries that are approaching Gavi transition, and so too to countries that are approaching transition from funding from other donors, such as the Global Fund.
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