With vaccines centerstage at summit, 6 African countries to get mRNA technology – POLITICO
Six African countries will be the first recipients of the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines on the continent, European and African leaders announced Friday at the EU-Africa summit.
In an indication of the importance of the initiative, World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, French President Emmanual Macron, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and President of the European Council Charles Michel all attended the announcement in Brussels. It marks the next stage of the WHO’s mRNA technology transfer hub located in South Africa.
The South African hub has already achieved a significant milestone — producing what it hopes will be a replica of Moderna’s mRNA coronavirus vaccine in January, as first reported by POLITICO.
The six countries to receive the technology in Africa are Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. The South African hub is also already working with two facilities in Latin America — one in Argentina and another in Brazil.
Increased vaccine production on the African continent has been a central ask from African leaders. In the run-up to the summit that concludes Friday, access to vaccines and the intellectual property rights related to these products has been a major sticking point between EU and African Union countries. Arriving at the summit on Thursday, Ramaphosa said that he was "not yet" convinced by what the EU was offering.
In a statement Friday, Ramaphosa emphasized the importance of the initiative, saying that it means “mutual respect, mutual recognition of what we can all bring to the party, investment in our economies, infrastructure investment and, in many ways, giving back to the continent."
Gloss