The Chairman of Egypt’s Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA), Dr. Heba Wali, has revealed that the country is set to produce 60% of African vaccine needs by 2040.
She made this statement at a press gathering in Cairo on Monday, revealing that there is the construction of a $50 million vaccine storage facility, which will be completed in July to house about 150 million doses of COVID-19 and other vaccines.
Dr. Wali explained that the facility is being created as part of the Egyptian government’s ambition to make Egypt the continent’s vaccine production hub.
She said, Egypt currently has the capacity to meet the country’s COVID-19 vaccination demands; however, VACSERA is receiving technical assistance from China in the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
VACSERA is also looking forward to beginning manufacturing of vaccinations to combat avian flu and pneumonia, which have caused serious health problems in several African countries in recent years, she added.
VACSERA, she claims, has the potential to generate 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccinations each year, with 70 million doses produced in five months during the pandemic’s peak.
According to WHO estimates, there have been 254,000 deaths and 12.086 million recorded infections in Africa since the outbreak in 2019, with Egypt accounting for around 24,690 deaths.
She revealed that the first consignment of vaccines was sent to Palestine in an effort to assist the Middle Eastern country in combating COVID-19.
Wali said that VACSERA is developing a strategy with Centres for Disease Control in other African countries to find a common ground for vaccine production in the continent.
Prior to this, Investors King reported that Egypt sought a loan of 83 Million Euros from the African Development Bank to power their Electricity Sector to Spur Economic Recovery from Covid-19. The funding is part of the Bank’s budget support to the Egyptian government to strengthen its electricity infrastructure, which is expected to bolster the private sector and accelerate recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, Investors King explained.
VASCERA was established over 100 years ago, and is currently, the only producer of vaccine & Sera in Egypt and one of the main functioning blood banks. Likewise, it is the oldest manufacturer of vaccines in Africa and the Middle East
