In its resolve to achieve vaccine equity, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has named Nigeria and five other African countries – Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, Kenya and Tunisia – as the first in Africa that would receive the technology needed for the manufacturing of mRNA (Messenger Ribonucleic Acid) used in producing COVID-19 vaccines.
The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who made the announcement at a recent European Union-African Union summit in Brussels, noted that the countries named, applied and were selected as the first technology recipients of the mRNA vaccine hub.
In giving the selected countries the nod for the vaccine production, the WHO admitted that COVID-19 pandemic has shown that reliance on a few companies to supply global public goods is limiting and dangerous. The organisation is aware that the best way to address health emergencies posed by the disease and reach universal health coverage is to significantly increase the capacity of all regions to manufacture the health products they need, with equitable access as their primary target.
According to WHO, the global mRNA technology transfer hub was established in 2021 to support manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries to produce their vaccines. It is reportedly part of a larger plan by the organisation to empower low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines, medicines and diagnostics that would enable them to squarely address their health emergencies and reach universal health coverage.
The technology will also ensure that the countries have all the necessary operating procedures and know-how to manufacture mRNA vaccines in line with international standards. Experts say that the mRNA vaccines are different from most vaccines which contain a weakened or inactive piece of the target virus which triggers the production of antibodies.
As explained by the WHO, these game-changing type of vaccines use laboratory engineering mRNA that give cells instructions on how to create a protein that resembles a piece of a protein found in the virus of concern — COVID-19 in this case. This, according to the WHO, triggers the body to create antibodies to deactivate the foreign protein. The antibodies then linger in the body to fight subsequent infection from COVID-19. This technology is used in the production of Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines.
The effort by the global health body to domesticate COVID-19 vaccine production is commendable. If fully implemented, the initiative will generally help in tackling the scourge and reduce its spread in Africa. The fair spread of countries chosen for the vaccine project is laudable. Producing the vaccines in Africa will definitely increase the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines on the continent. Statistics indicate that Africa is home to more than 1.2 billion people out of which WHO says more than 80 per cent of the population has yet to receive a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Less than six per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 200 million people are vaccinated against the virus.
We commend the WHO for making Nigeria one of the recipients of the mRNA technology for COVID-19 vaccine production. We enjoin those in charge of vaccine production in the country to maximise the opportunity and produce effective vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. With time, it is hoped that Nigeria will become one of the manufacturing hubs of COVID-19 vaccines.
We also believe that local production of the vaccines will lead to higher use and acceptance of COVID-19 jabs among Nigerians. The scarcity of vaccines has been the major challenge confronting Nigeria’s effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic as well as other vaccine preventable diseases in the country. The new opportunity offered by the WHO will largely assist the country overcome the challenge.
We urge other international organisations to emulate the commendable effort of the WHO and do more to boost the production of vaccines in Africa. The present low-vaccine production level on the continent is unacceptable and can hamper development in the region.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s observation that the best way to address health emergencies and reach universal health coverage is to significantly increase the capacity of all regions to manufacture the health products they need is in order. Let the WHO and other global agencies have this in mind and give more attention to health issues on the continent.
