- World Health Organization (WHO) has announced plans to initiate the first mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa which will bring Africa closer to its target of local manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines within the continent.
- It will also mean that Africa could start using locally manufactured COVID-19 vaccines next year.
World Health Organization (WHO) has announced plans to initiate the first mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa which will bring Africa closer to its target of local manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines within the continent. It will also, mean that Africa could start using locally manufactured COVID-19 vaccines next year.
The Messenger RNA or mRNA is an advanced technology that is the basis of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines that prompt an immune response inside the body.
According to the WHO, the transfer hubs will facilitate mRNA technology to be set up at an industrial scale providing training and necessary licenses for local manufacturers. The first tech transfer hub is to be driven by a South African consortium that includes Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Speaking at a press conference last week, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked that the pandemic has proved that low-income countries cannot depend on developed countries for their vaccine needs. The COVID 19 infection rates and death rates in Africa have gone up by almost 40 percent this year while the death rates in developed countries were brought down by effective vaccination. He urged African countries to beef up vaccine and medicine production capacity.
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa called this initiative as a major step in the international effort to build vaccine development and manufacturing capacity. For Africa, it will help reduce the burden of the Pandemic where less than one per cent of the population are fully vaccinated.
Ms. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist, WHO assured that countries will be guided on the process of manufacturing vaccines, quality control, and necessary licenses to facilitate rapid technology transfer. She added that within nine to twelve months the hub will start producing vaccines in South Africa. More proposals for the transfer of technology to Africa to boost vaccine production will be reviewed by WHO, she said.
