The African Union has resolved that by 2040, 60 percent of vaccines used in Africa will be produced locally.
This was revealed by President William Ruto who co-hosted a meeting on vaccine manufacturing in Africa with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He regretted that the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the dire state of Africa’s pharmaceutical manufacturing, including that of vaccines.
“We were the last continent to access Covid-19 vaccines, and suffered greatly from ‘vaccine nationalism’. But this situation will change for the better. AU has resolved that by 2040, 60 percent of vaccines used in Africa will be produced locally” he said.
He explained the breakthrough had been bolstered by the solid research capacity in vaccines.
He cited Kenya, as one of the countries that participated in the Covid-19 vaccine trials.
Presidents Mohamed al-Menfi (Libya) and Brahim Ghali (Sahrawi) were present. Others were Ahmed Hachani (Prime Minister, Tunisia), IVI Director-General Jerome Kim, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, among others.
Margaret Kalekye
Writes about africa for KBC Digital.
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