South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday that the global vaccine distribution scheme COVAX and vaccines alliance GAVI should commit themselves to buying vaccines from local manufacturing hubs.
“The lack of a market for vaccines produced in Africa is something that should be concerning to all of us. Organisations such as COVAX and GAVI need to commit to buying vaccines from local manufacturers instead of going outside of those hubs that have been set up,” Ramaphosa said.
He was speaking after the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the first six African countries, including South Africa, to receive the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines.
Announcement of the first recipients of mRNA technology:
In 2021, the WHO picked a consortium of companies including Afrigen for a pilot project to give poor and middle-income countries the know-how to make COVID vaccines after market leaders of the mRNA COVID vaccine, Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, declined a WHO request to share their technology and expertise.
The consortium partners hope their technology transfer hub will help overcome inequalities between rich nations and poorer countries in getting access to vaccines. Some 99% of Africa’s vaccines against all diseases are imported and the negligible remainder manufactured locally.
It is not acceptable that Africa is consistently at the back of the queue in relation to access to medicines. While we appreciate the donations, they are never a sustainable mechanism to build resilience.https://t.co/ixBUjumGga
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 18, 2022
Unless Africa has a vaccine market, manufacturing vaccines will soon collapse. We cannot continue being consumers of medical countermeasures for diseases produced at high prices that are not affordable to the Continent.https://t.co/ixBUjumGga
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 18, 2022
We welcome the announcement of the African spokes in Kenya, Tunisia, Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt, which will receive the technology developed at the South African mRNA Hub.https://t.co/ixBUjumGga
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 18, 2022
