TB VACCINE ADVOCACY AND ACCEPTANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA:
A SCOPING STUDY | 11 JUNE 2024
The R&D pipeline for new TB diagnostics, antibiotics, and vaccines has begun to yield promising products. Several TB vaccine candidates are at various stages of clinical trials, with four candidates, including the Gates/Wellcome co-funded M72 vaccine, in late-stage Phase III trials. Much-needed investment in developing and testing new TB vaccines has provided renewed hope that a new TB vaccine will become available within the next 5-8 years.
Understanding how to generate advocacy as well as acceptance for new TB vaccines within most affected communities is an essential component of ensuring a new TB vaccine will have the intended impact on ending the TB epidemic.
The Wellcome Community Engagement team supported Eh!woza to explore these issues. Our team, comprising biomedical researchers, artists, and youth from Khayelitsha, has conducted TB community engagement in the area for the past decade. Our work and networks exist at the intersection of health research, civil society, and a community with one of the world’s highest TB rates. In this preliminary scoping report, we gathered a range of perspectives to provide early-stage insights into TB vaccine advocacy and acceptance in South Africa.
The overarching question underpinning this work is: What is needed to generate advocacy and demand for a new TB vaccine in South Africa? Within this, factors that would enhance TB vaccine acceptance were explored, with a focus on community engagement. First, a stakeholder map was compiled to identify stakeholders who have a key role to play in encouraging advocacy and acceptance for new TB vaccines. After this, semi-structured interviews with representatives from each sector provided in-depth stakeholder perspectives that were synthesised to compile the report.
The full report together with summaries and the stakeholder map are provided below. For any queries or comments, please contact: tash@ehwoza.com.
