Given the critical need for the development of vaccine centres in Africa, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has noted that the continent’s leaders are working with the European Union and other partners to help create regional vaccine manufacturing hubs in countries which include Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, and Rwanda.
The Director-General of WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, explained the need for her creation of such hubs Monday during a virtual meeting on Monday, June 21, 2021, noting that it is relevant to secure the future using this method.
“We have now seen that over-centralization of vaccine production capacity is incompatible with equitable access in a crisis situation.
“Regional production hubs, in tandem with open supply chains, offer a more promising path to preparedness for future health crisis,” she said.
Notably, the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA), an initiative of the Africa Union created to discuss and begin the process of vaccine development and distribution within the African continent, launched in Nigeria on Monday, at the Igbinedion University Teaching Hospital (IUTH), Okada Town, Edo State, with medical experts, researchers, and policymakers from nations across the continent in attendance.
