Interview with Dr. Amadou Sall
During his tenure as CEO of Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal. Dr. Sall recently began a new role as Executive Director of Manufacturing and Supply Chain of CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, in London.
Achieving vaccine security requires collaboration between the public and private sectors, the selective use of digital solutions, and the right partners at the table, according to Dr. Sall, the former CEO of Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), a non-profit at the forefront of the fight against infectious diseases in West Africa. In an interview with IFC, Dr. Sall discusses the challenges of meeting public health demands in Africa, the role of the private sector in addressing gaps, and what he hopes to achieve in his new role at CEPI.
“If we want Africa to be self-reliant, we must have the local capacity to protect our communities from yellow fever, pandemics, or any community health need.”
What are the most significant obstacles to achieving vaccine security in Africa?
One of the greatest challenges is the narrative about Africa and its capacities. No one pays much attention if an ambitious project is undertaken in Germany or parts of India. However, when an African vaccine manufacturer does something enterprising like IPD in its work to construct a multi-vaccine facility that will be able to produce 300 million doses annually, it leaves people skeptical. So, when African entrepreneurs try to raise funds or convince stakeholders to participate, preconceived notions make things difficult.
Also, the vaccine manufacturing ecosystem in Africa is not fully functional yet. The supply chain is an important consideration and most of the raw materials needed to make vaccines come from outside Africa. The regulatory environment and workforce skills are also not there yet. Research and development and all things linked to intellectual property and innovation must be developed. Achieving a greater sense of vaccine security will require technology transfer, workforce training, and establishing a regulatory process. This is where the private sector, working together with the public sector, is critical.
How has IPD navigated these challenges?
Before planning IPD’s new facility, Madiba, we looked at the different systems most manufacturers use and decided to start from scratch. We purchased new equipment, leveraging the latest technology to build a modern factory. New technologies can be more expensive initially, but advancements in material science, energy consumption, and digitalization make it easier and more efficient to safely produce larger volumes for less.
We also cultivated strong partnerships with governments because they are uniquely positioned to facilitate regulatory reform, workforce training, and address supply chain issues.
Third, during my tenure at IPD, we always tried to find the best people to help us progress, which is why we came to IFC. IFC was the ideal partner to help us raise funds because they work with the private sector and have experience working with governments. Beyond the financial aspect, IFC collaborates with many partners and has cultivated valuable expertise in local vaccine manufacturing. We also sought innovative financing models, like blended financing, grants, and loans, and IFC was beneficial. By involving the government, being creative in the use of technology, and having the right partners at the table, we were able to navigate the challenges on the road to achieving vaccine security.
For nearly 80 years, IPD focused on smaller-scale production of a yellow fever vaccine. While at IPD, you were instrumental in helping expand to a multi-vaccine platform. What are the key challenges of operating on a much larger scale?
If we want Africa to be self-reliant, we must have the local capacity to protect our communities from yellow fever, pandemics, or any community health need. We built a platform anticipating what might come with two factors in mind. The first is scale. The market for measles and rubella (MR) vaccinations is huge, requiring potentially hundreds of millions of doses, where demand for yellow fever might be in tens of millions globally. The platform needed to be able to expand and contract as needed.
Second, the Madiba facility would also need to be able to switch from one type of vaccine manufacturing to another. Yellow fever is an egg-based vaccine, MR is cell-based, and COVID-19 is a messenger RNA product. Our platform can switch from one to another.
To go from scarcity to abundance, we needed to look at processes that work for scale. We explored digital solutions that would enable us to fully automate some processes. We also needed to train people in new technologies to align workforce skills with digital transformation. The entire organization required a reset, which has been quite challenging. We have made tremendous progress and hope all the lessons we learned may be helpful to others.
What innovative solution to improve the speed, scale, and accessibility of vaccine production are you most excited about?
Artificial intelligence will change everything, from how vaccines are designed to how quickly we can determine which sequences trigger the immune system to evaluating the impact of various vaccine rollout strategies to quality management and clinical trials.
AI combined with robotics will lead to accomplishing more, faster, more consistently, and with fewer people. When will the revolution begin? It has already started and will help us make huge progress in saving human lives. The future is already here; it’s just unevenly distributed.
What role does the private sector play in delivering health security and equity?
The private sector is vital. Public resources fund research that certainly expands knowledge. But the private sector is known for investing in innovation in high-income countries and bringing those solutions and depth of experience to low- and middle-income countries. The private sector may also be more important in driving the health agenda and elevating international standards for vaccines and medical care.
We know quality care is feasible. We need more money to scale and expand access to all people. The private sector can solve problems in the most challenging environments.
As you begin the next chapter of your career, what do you hope to achieve in your new role with CEPI?
In the last five years, post-COVID-19, I have focused on building capacity here in Africa because of an equity and access problem. My ambition at CEPI is that, as a partner, we build systems to bring more vaccine security on a global level. When it comes to manufacturing and supply chain, CEPI has already done amazing work in terms of supporting equity. I am excited to continue their legacy and the great team that delivers that achievement.
What three pieces of advice would you give to government leaders in emerging market countries struggling to achieve true health security?
First, count on your own resources. It’s okay to start small but just get started. Second, take the time to create a long-term vision. Be bold and ambitious, and plan appropriately. Know exactly where you want to go, have a clear vision and objective, and stick to it. Lastly, be extremely agile and open to new and innovative approaches to work. We live in a volatile, uncertain, chaotic, and ambiguous world. One must be nimble. Finding the right people is the best way to progress in these three areas. You’ll always find the money to make things happen. Human capital is the most important piece of the puzzle.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Published in June 2025.
Dr. Amadou Sall is the Executive Director, Manufacturing and Supply Chain for CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. In his role, Dr. Sall will lead the organization’s manufacturing and supply chain strategy, which aims to enhance global epidemic and pandemic preparedness by bolstering global manufacturing capacity in underserved regions and harnessing innovative technologies to improve the speed, scale, and accessibility of vaccine production.
Dr. Sall has served as CEO of Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Arboviruses and Viral Haemorrhagic Fever and a member of several expert committees for WHO and OIE.
Dr. Sall has also served as the Chairman of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), as a Commissioner of the Africa CDC Pandemic Preparedness Prevention and Response Committee, as a co-chair of the COVID-19 laboratory technical working group of Africa CDC and as a member of the African Union/ Africa CDC Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Steering Committee as well as the Senegalese Committee for COVID-19. He has served as the chairman of the Pasteur Network.
Dr. Sall is a virologist with a PhD in Public Health and an expert in epidemic response and control.