Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta receives Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster dose at State House in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Dec. 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Charles Onyango)
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday witnessed the signing of an MOU between Nairobi and Moderna to establish the first mRNA manufacturing facility in the country, the first such facility in Africa, to produce messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines.
NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Nairobi and Moderna to establish the first mRNA manufacturing facility in the country, the first such facility in Africa, to produce messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines.
Kenyatta said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the mRNA is expected to produce up to 500 million doses of vaccines each year.
Kenyatta said the setting up of the mRNA manufacturing facility will be a game changer, especially for Kenya which has had the vision to produce vaccines.
Moderna anticipates investing up to 57 billion shillings (about 500 million U.S. dollars) in the new facility, which will focus on drug substance manufacturing on the continent.
Kenyatta, who has been in the front championing for the African continent to manufacture its own COVID-19 vaccines in order to meet the demand of its population, reiterated the challenges faced by the African continent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This, he said, was not because of a lack of finances to buy the vaccines but because the vaccines were not available for them for purchase.
"We all know the challenges that Kenya and the entire continent of Africa went through in the earlier stages of this pandemic that resulted in Africa being left behind. Not because of want but because of lack and Moderna has come to fill that space," Kenyatta said.
The Kenyan leader said the new facility will go a long way in enabling African countries to tackle any emerging future pandemics.
Moderna's CEO Stephane Bancel said his company is committed to partnering to provide a health solution, saying the investment the company is making in Kenya is crucial as it is part of the solution to ensuring global health equity. ■
