Contact us

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A network uniting all 55 African countries in advancing excellence in clinical trials.
AVAREF was originally established as the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum.
Over the years, it has evolved into Africa’s leading platform for regulatory and ethics capacity building, clinical trials oversight systems strengthening, harmonization, and expertise in clinical trials.

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Today, AVAREF supports access to innovative medicines, vaccines, and other health products through a strengthened clinical trial ecosystem to meet Africa’s needs.
Its core mission, Advancing Clinical Trials Excellence in Africa, brings together a wide range of stakeholders and partners across the continent and beyond.

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AVAREF, through its ecosystem and life cycle approach, unites all African countries, connecting National Regulatory Agencies (NRAs), National Ethics Committees (NECs), Clinical Researchers, and other partners to strengthen clinical trial oversight, promote ethical standards, strengthen capacity, and ultimately enhance access to innovative medicines. 

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The AVAREF Secretariat, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, supports member states along the innovation life cycle through provision of scientific and technical support, a platform for multi-country joint reviews and scientific advice for clinical trials, and training for evaluators fostering collaboration that accelerates access to innovative, safe, effective, and affordable medicines of assured quality for the African population.

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WHAT'S AVAREF

Our Vision

A continent where every African has timely access to innovative, safe, effective, and affordable medicines, vaccines, and other health products of assured quality. 

Our Mission

Supporting African countries to strengthen clinical trial ecosystem through regulatory and ethical oversight, harmonization, timely decisions, and promotion of excellence along the innovation life cycle. 

Engage With Us

Stay informed about AVAREF’s latest work, publications, and upcoming events, and join the community advancing clinical trial excellence in Africa. 

Strengthening Africa’s
Clinical Trials Ecosystem

AVAREF Ecosystem Survey 2025

Building a comprehensive evidence base to guide regulatory harmonization
and capacity development.

  • Identify bottlenecks affecting review timelines
  • Map regulatory capacity and digital readiness
  • Guide targeted training & harmonization
  • Track progress using a standardized monitoring framework
Learn More About the Initiative →

Review
Timelines

Harmonization

Digital
Systems

Capacity-
Building

AVAREF Ecosystem Survey 2025 – Initiative

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The AVAREF Ecosystem Survey 2025 is a regional evidence-building initiative designed to map the current state of clinical trial oversight across Africa. It provides a standardized baseline of how National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and Ethics Committees (ECs) operate, including their review timelines, staffing, resources, digital systems, and emergency preparedness.

By collecting accurate, nationally validated information, the initiative supports AVAREF’s mandate to strengthen regulatory systems, improve harmonization, and accelerate access to high-quality clinical trials. The data will help identify bottlenecks, highlight priority gaps, and guide targeted capacity-building efforts such as training, policy development, digital transformation, and regional collaboration.

Insights from the survey will also inform the long-term AVAREF Strategic Roadmap (2025–2035), including development of harmonized pathways, strengthening of joint review mechanisms, and investment planning. The results will be used to track progress over time and support transparent, evidence-based regulatory strengthening across the continent.

Featured & Upcoming Events

Stay informed about AVAREF webinars, workshops and regional meetings that strengthen clinical trial oversight across Africa.

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24–26 SEP 2025
Multi-day regional workshop
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Brazzaville, Congo · English & French interpretation.
WHO considerations in developing a regulatory framework for human cells, tissues and advanced therapy medicinal products.
View details Past
22-23 SEP 2025
CGTP and AMTPs workshop
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Kintele, Congo · English & French interpretation.
Cell and gene therapy products (CGTP), and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs).
View details Past
30 SEP 2025
CGTP and AMTPs workshop
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Kintele, Congo · English & French interpretation.
New CEPI funding will support AVAREF in fast-tracking the development of life-saving vaccines to better contain infectious disease outbreaks in Africa.
View details Past
30 SEP 2025
Emergency Preparedness Guidance (2020) and regulatory report writing
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Kintele, Congo · English & French interpretation.
Facilitated by WHO/AFRO and Health Canada; trained participants on Emergency Preparedness Guidance (2020) and regulatory report writing.
View details Past
05-07 NOV 2024
Development of the Mpox Vaccines Prepardness and Deployment Plan
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Brazzaville, Congo · English & French interpretation.
Regional Workshop: Development of the Mpox Vaccines Prepardness and Deployment Plan
View details Past
23-27 SEP 2024
Regulatory Strength for Clinical Trials in Francophone Africa
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Dakar, Senegal · English
Regulatory Strength for Clinical Trials in Francophone Africa
View details Past
18-20 SEP 2024
Research ethics capacity building workshop
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Dakar, Senegal · English
Research ethics capacity building workshop on the review of clinical trials and WHO Benchmarking Tool for Research Ethics Oversight
View details Past
16-20 SEP 2024
Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) meeting
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Dakar, Senegal · English & French interpretation.
Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) meeting
View details Past
09-13 SEP 2024
National Rollout of Vigimobile
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Lilongwe, Malawi · English & French interpretation.
National Rollout of Vigimobile in Malawi and training of the National vaccine Safety Committee on Causality assessment
View details Past
22-26 JUL 2024
Clinical trial ecosystem Optimization exercise
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Lusaka, Zambia · English & French interpretation.
Clinical trial ecosystem Optimization exercise
View details Past
09-13 JUN 2024
Comprehensive Training on Clinical trial Assessment for African Lusophone Countries
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Maputo, Mozambique · English & French interpretation.
Comprehensive Training on Clinical trial Assessment for African Lusophone Countries
View details Past
01-03 JUL 2024
Improvement of clinical trials ecosystem in African region
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia · English
Clinical trial review and approval process optimization assessments for improvement of clinical trials ecosystem in African region
View details Past
27-29 NOV 2023
The 6th Meeting of AACVS
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia · English
The sixth meeting of the African Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (AACVS)
View details Past
01-03 JUL 2024
Vaccine Safety Training Workshop for East and Southern Africa
Workshop
WHO Implementation Workshop
Johannesburg, South Africa · English
Vaccine Safety Training Workshop for East and Southern Africa
View details Past
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