The World Health Organisation (WHO) has selected Nigeria and five other African countries to start their own production of mRNA vaccines.
This was disclosed in a statement on Friday at a ceremony hosted by the European Council, France, South Africa, and WHO during the European Union-African Union summit in Brussels, Belgium.
The statement reads, “Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia all applied and have been selected as recipients.
“The global mRNA technology transfer hub was established in 2021 to support manufacturers in low and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines, ensuring that they have all the necessary operating procedures and know-how to manufacture mRNA vaccines at scale and according to international standards.
“Primarily set up to address the COVID-19 emergency, the hub has the potential to expand manufacturing capacity for other products as well, putting countries in the driver’s seat when it comes to the kinds of vaccines and other products they need to address their health priorities.”
Director-General, WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus in his remarks said, “No other event like the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that reliance on few companies to supply global public goods is limiting, and dangerous.
“In the mid-to-long term, the best way to address health emergencies and reach universal health coverage is to significantly increase the capacity of all regions to manufacture the health products they need, with equitable access as their primary endpoint.”
Dignitaries present during the announcement include the President of France, Emmanuel Macron; the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, amongst others.
