Vaccination remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective investments in Africa’s future. As our continent advances its health security and sovereignty agenda, countries face rapid demographic changes, recurring health emergencies, and tightening fiscal space, all of which threaten to undermine hard-won gains in immunization programmes.

The Continental Immunization Strategy (CIS) provides a pragmatic, time-bound roadmap to strengthen immunization systems across Africa by anchoring vaccination within resilient, epidemic-ready primary health care systems and health security frameworks. It is designed to close equity gaps, reach zero-dose children, and sustain life-course immunization, while advancing the goals of the Addis Declaration on Immunization and Immunization Agenda 2030.

The CIS translates these commitments into actionable shifts towards: stronger country leadership and sustainable financing; digital transformation and data use for accountability; integrated, people-centred service delivery across the life course; community trust and social and behavior change; resilient vaccine supply chain and strengthened regulation; scaling-up regional manufacturing; and readiness to prevent, detect, and respond to vaccine-preventable disease threats.

Building on the African Health Security and Sovereignty Agenda, principles of the Lusaka Agenda and Accra Reset, the CIS emphasizes the centrality of country leadership and the coordination role of Africa CDC, supported by partners through an accountability framework that values results, learning, and course correction. Above all, it affirms that immunization is a smart investment to advance universal health coverage, health security, and Africa’s social and economic development.