Staff reporter
IFC and the Rwanda Development Board recently signed a collaboration agreement to develop vaccine manufacturing capacity in Rwanda and contribute towards expanding vaccine production in Africa.
As part of the collaboration, IFC will support Rwanda to conduct diagnostic and feasibility studies to ensure the right technical and policy frameworks needed to establish a world-class vaccine manufacturing supply chain in Rwanda are in place to produce vaccines for use in Rwanda and to export across Africa.
“Rwanda aims to produce high-quality vaccines for the African market. A production facility like the one envisaged in this collaboration agreement advances this objective. We are pleased to have IFC as a strategic partner,” said Zephanie Niyonkuru, Deputy CEO of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
IFC’s Acting Regional Industry Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services in the Middle East and Africa, Samuel Dzotefe said, “A resilient Africa needs to develop and maintain its own reliable vaccine supply and health industry.” He said the partnership with the Rwanda Development Board is a vital step toward helping Africa to build vaccine manufacturing capacity to respond to COVID-19 and future pandemics.
The partnership will focus on supporting Rwanda’s recently announced association with BioNTech, a leading biotechnology company, and the kENUP Foundation to explore establishing end-to-end manufacturing capability for mRNA vaccines.
Africa depends on other countries for 99 percent of its vaccine supply. The African Union and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are aiming to have 60 percent of Africa’s routine vaccines produced locally by 2040. Africa CDC has identified Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa as potential regional vaccine manufacturing hubs in Africa.
