The accelerated development of COVID-19 vaccines, alongside the unprecedented scale for effective vaccine rollout, has heightened the need for robust safety surveillance in all countries. To support member states, the AU-3S team is implementing four main initiatives:

• Promotion of electronic vaccine data collection through the development of an Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI) form via a smartphone using the Med Safety App, made available by the MHRA, and support for NRA and EPI programmes to use these tools in their countries

• Establishment of a multi-country Data Integration and Signal Detection (DISD) system to detect safety signals in combined cross-country data from African countries

• Establishment and facilitation of a multi-country group of experts known as the AU-3S Joint Signal Management (JSM) Group to validate, prioritise, and assess cross-country signals as reported via countries

• The deliverance of Capacity Strengthening trainings for African regulators and public health officials on the full spectrum of safety surveillance responsibilities, from data reporting and collection to causality assessments, to safety communications - with MHRA as the technical partner

These approaches have been developed by AUDA-NEPAD in conjunction with a working group that is comprised of members of the country medical products regulatory authorities, members of the EPI programme and the MHRA.