Kenya and South Korea forge strategic partnership to strengthen vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing

KENYA —In a significant development for Kenya’s healthcare sector, the country is set to establish a collaboration with South Korea in the field of vaccines and pharmaceutical manufacturing. 

The partnership aims to facilitate the exchange of technology, health financing expertise, management information systems, and ensure health commodity security between the two nations.

The announcement was made during a meeting at the Ministry of Health offices in Nairobi, where the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Health, Nakhumicha S. Wafula, welcomed a delegation from Gyeonggido provincial government, South Korea. 

The CS was joined by the governor of Baringo county, H.E. Benjamin Cheboi, underscoring the importance of the partnership.

This joint effort between Kenya and South Korea holds great potential for bolstering Kenya’s ongoing endeavors to establish local production capabilities for vaccines and pharmaceuticals. 

In 2022, CS Wafula visited SK Biosciences, an international vaccine manufacturing company based in Seoul, seeking cooperation in technology transfer with this global pharmaceutical giant.

Furthermore, in February, the Ministry organized a consultative meeting led by CS Wafula with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) to discuss formal admission as a state party.

During the meeting, both parties explored various areas of collaboration, including research, product development partnerships, capacity building through training, technical assistance, and technology transfers. 

These discussions focused on the cooperation between the IVI and Kenya’s Biovax Institute, which is mandated to manufacture specialized health products, including vaccines and therapeutics.

The Kenya Biovax Institute is now prepared to accelerate its manufacturing process in earnest, with the estimated cost of the vaccine project amounting to US$400 million. 

The first batch of vaccines is expected to reach the market by early 2024, marking a significant milestone for Kenya’s healthcare independence.

The need for local vaccine manufacturing in Africa has gained prominence, given the continent’s limited number of vaccine production facilities. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa currently has less than ten vaccine manufacturing facilities, and only one of them produces WHO-prequalified vaccines.

This heavy reliance on vaccine imports leaves African nations vulnerable during health crises, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and routine immunizations.

However, the situation is gradually changing as Africa witnesses a surge in initiatives aimed at expanding vaccine manufacturing within the continent. 

More than 20 new projects have been launched to address the production gap, offering hope for improved healthcare outcomes. 

These efforts not only focus on existing vaccines but also target a range of infectious diseases that affect Africa, such as HIV, dengue fever, Chikungunya, Rift Valley Fever, Zika, Nipah, Lassa fever, Marburg, non-Zaire strains of Ebola, pandemic influenza, adult tuberculosis, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). 

The development of vaccines for these diseases is already being supported by organizations like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

One particularly promising initiative is the mRNA technology transfer hub, which commenced research activities at the end of 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. Afrigen Biologics leads this hub, focusing on the production of mRNA vaccines. 

A network of universities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contribute to the research, while Biovac, a South African vaccine producer, serves as the first manufacturer of mRNA vaccines on the continent. 

Once the technology transfer process is complete, the hub plans to share knowledge and licensing information with five other vaccine-producing countries across Africa, including Egypt, Senegal, Kenya, Tunisia, and Nigeria.

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