The German pharmaceutical company BioNTech has broken ground for its 323,000-square-foot the production site for of its COVID-19 vaccine in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
The German pharmaceutical company BioNTech has broken ground for its 323,000-square-foot the production site for of its COVID-19 vaccine in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
The ceremony was attended by several dignitaries in person as well as through video link. The participants included Rwandan President Paul Kagame, other African heads of state, representatives from the EU, the World Health Organization and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The first African manufacturing facility using the new technology of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is expected to improve the supply of vaccines in Africa. According to a BioNTech press release, the facility will have an estimated annual capacity of about 50 million vaccine doses.
The plant, based on the modular containers will scale up production as needed and also can also eventually be used to make mRNA vaccines against malaria or tuberculosis. The first set of containers is expected to arrive in Rwanda in late 2022, with production starting within 12 to 18 months after that. After setting up the first facility in Rwanda, the company has an ambitious plan to set up a wider supply network spanning several African nations, including Senegal and South Africa, in the next few years to exclusively cater to the continent. The BioNTech plant comes under the European Union’s Vaccine Equity for Africa project launched in February.
Most African nations have remained under-vaccinated for COVID-19. Only three in the continent (Mauritius, Seychelles, and Rwanda are likely to meet the World Health Organization’s target of 70% coverage with COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June.
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