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Employees in clean room clothes work on the production of Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccine at the Allergopharma plant in Reinbek near Hamburg, northern Germany, on April 30, 2021, amid the novel coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Christian Charisius / POOL / AFP)

Africa

AfDB banks on a USD 45 million vaccine plant in East Africa to boost healthcare

NAIROBI, Kenya, October 26 – The African Development Bank is banking on a USD 45 million WHO-prequalified vaccine production plant in East Africa to enable routine production of three vaccines, including for COVID-19.

The project which falls under the Africa Investment Forum,  championed by AfDB seeks to enable the region to boost its healthcare sector and attract much-needed investment in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the forum has showcased a USD 96 million project that would see the development of a 250-bed specialist hospital, in a West African country yet to be determined, to offer world-class healthcare services to individuals.

So far, the project has commenced, with feasibility studies carried out and land for construction secured.

The projects were reviewed for potential investors during a roundtable, held on October 21, which is part of a series of events organized by the Africa Investment Forum and hosted by the Atlantic Council.

Africa Investment Forum Senior Director Chinelo Anohu commented that the East African plant would solve the issue of vaccine inequity in the continent.

“Through trade and investment, particularly in its pharmaceutical sector, the continent can avoid its current limited access to Covid-19 vaccines, we’re looking to provide a co-investment platform where you mobilize domestic investors, mobilize project sponsors for the continent, and then mobilize international investors, those who are looking to make an investment and get a profit,” he added.

Stavros Nicolaou the Senior Executive of Strategic Trade at Aspen Pharmacare, who was also in attendance, said that the projects would boost the continent’s health care system as well as reduce the rate of mortality.

“Africa’s disease burden is the highest of any continent and therefore preventive care, including vaccines, is even more important for Africans. The need for pharmaceuticals will increase the requirements for partnerships that can overcome constraints such as research & development,” Nicolaou said.

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