Rwanda, South Africa set to begin development & manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa

A meeting of the Africa Union and Africa CDC brought together Africa heads of States in a brainstorming session over the continents preparedness or lack of it in combating COVID-29.

Faced with what it is described as vaccine nationalization and export restrictions on pharmaceuticals products, Africa is feeling exposed prompting the need to push for an African-based solution

South Africa and Rwanda have already taken bold steps towards the manufacturing of COVID-19vaccines within the continent.

The two nations have entered into partnership deals with Johnson and Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer to begin vaccine productions in their countries

“We will start production of 220 million doses in a deal with Johnson and Johnson,” South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.

According to President Robert Kagame, Rwanda is in talks with Moderna and Pfizer Biontech for the production of the vaccines.

African nations have been receiving their vaccines through UNICEF in a partnership agreement with GAVI—but given COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the Western nations, European countries have limited export and imposed bans on the vaccines giving priority to their citizens.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has set up a COVAX manufacturing task force to boost COVID-19 vaccine supply and build sustainable manufacturing to support health security.

The who boss is appealing to global pharmaceutical companies to share their know how on vaccine production

The virtual AU meeting brought together Heads of States from Rwanda, South Africa, Congo, and Senegal.

The WHO and the World Trade Organization bosses were also in attendance.

Africa’s nations are citing lack of capital, lack of standards of quality for such products, technological challenges among other parameters as factors that have condemned the continent to lag behind in the vaccine production