The African continent bears a disproportionate share of this health burden, accounting alone for nearly 25% of newly recorded cases, or about 2.7 million individuals. Despite notable advances made between 2015 and 2024 — including a 28% decline in incidence and a 46% reduction in mortality in the region — progress remains insufficient to meet the requirements of international health agendas. This situation is largely due to the structural limitations of the historic vaccine, BCG. Introduced a century ago, it primarily protects infants and young children against severe forms, but offers insufficient protection against pulmonary tuberculosis in adolescents and adults, who are prime targets for transmission.

To address this epidemiological urgency, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) is coordinating new strategic analyses based on the imminent arrival of next-generation vaccines starting in 2029. Modeling projections indicate that their progressive deployment in low- and middle-income countries could save up to 7.3 million lives between 2030 and 2050, while generating economic benefits estimated at $135 billion.


To transform this health hope into operational reality and avoid supply disruptions, Gavi structures its action around three cardinal axes: securing volumes and prices, preparing the logistics of national vaccination programs, and supporting a diversified and competitive industrial production. The needs of these markets are estimated at an average demand of 86 million vaccine regimens per year, with pronounced absorption peaks in high-endemicity areas during the first years of commercialization.


However, the realization of these health projections relies on rigorous epidemiological assumptions, such as an estimated efficacy of 50% accompanied by a gradual decline in protection over a decade. Currently, clinical research is progressing steadily: a 2026 review counts eighteen vaccine candidates in clinical development, six of which have reached the crucial stage of Phase 3 trials involving several thousand volunteers. Among them, the M72/AS01E candidate demonstrated an efficacy of around 50% over a three-year period in adults already carrying the bacterium, while the MTBVAC vaccine is undergoing advanced clinical trials in newborns and adolescent and adult cohorts in several African countries, notably South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar, Kenya, and Tanzania. Health authorities will thus need to arbitrate between these different therapeutic options based on precise criteria, including efficacy, duration of protection, overall cost, and compatibility with existing preventive tools, which have already enabled more than 5 million high-risk individuals to be placed on short-term preventive treatment in 2024.


Nlend Flore

Tags: tuberculose vaccin gavi afrique m72 mtbvac bcg santé publique vaccins de nouvelle génération sauver des vies