African health ministers endorsed the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19, establishing a shared continental framework meant to align preparedness and response efforts that regional blocs (RECs) could build on.
The EAC Secretariat began deploying mobile laboratories and test kits to partner states and established a Regional Coordination Committee with sub-committees (risk communication, guidelines, logistics, and data), supporting cross-border surveillance and response capacity.
An extraordinary IGAD summit (virtual) resolved to formulate a regional response strategy to pandemic diseases (including COVID-19) and to establish an IGAD Emergency Fund, reinforcing the bloc’s coordinated approach.
IGAD health ministers issued a Call for Action, endorsing outlines of a regional response plan, creating a regional expert taskforce, and advancing a regional emergency fund concept—an early step toward coordinated action in the Horn of Africa.
SADC summarized its initial set of regionally coordinated actions (including cross-border transport guidance, pooled procurement options, and health protocol coordination), framing a bloc-level approach alongside member-state measures.
ECOWAS Heads of State and Government convened a video-conference summit to coordinate the West African regional response, reviewing the epidemiological situation and the socio-economic impacts across member states.
The AU Bureau of Heads of State and Government held a teleconference with chairpersons of Regional Economic Communities (RECs), calling for reinforced AU–REC collaboration and noting AU initiatives such as task forces and the AU COVID-19 Solidarity Fund.
The EAC unveiled its Regional COVID-19 Response Plan, setting out interventions on surveillance and reporting at border points, laboratory and IPC supplies, risk communication, and mitigation of economic and social impacts across the Community.
COMESA ministers agreed on common guidelines to harmonize cross-border practices during the pandemic—aiming to keep essential goods and relief supplies moving while applying public-safety measures across member states.
The AU launched the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) as a continent-wide online marketplace to help governments access vetted suppliers for PPE, diagnostics, and other critical equipment—supporting collective purchasing alongside REC-level efforts.
The AU established the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) as a vehicle to support acquisition and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for AU member states, complementing COVAX and other procurement routes.
The World Bank and the AU announced a partnership to support the AU’s vaccine acquisition efforts—helping countries finance purchase and deployment of doses secured through the AU mechanism to expand access across the continent.
UNICEF signed an agreement with Janssen to supply up to 220 million J&J single-dose vaccines to AU Member States by end-2022 under AVAT arrangements, operationalizing AU procurement at scale.
A CDC analysis of WHO African Region vaccination coverage summarized the major vaccine supply channels and the role of the AU mechanism (AVAT) alongside COVAX, bilaterals, and direct purchases—capturing the multi-track approach used across sub-Saharan Africa.
COVID-19 Pandemic Responses across Sub-Saharan African Regional Blocs (2020–2022)
