[ad_1]
The Presidential Vaccine Manufacturing Committee says Ghana will need $ 200 million to fully manufacture COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
The committee headed by Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng says the project will be a private public partnership arrangement to involve all.
Speaking at a stakeholder workshop for members of the Presidential Press Corps in Accra, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng said some local pharmaceutical companies were already on board to begin the process.
“The consortium of three pharmaceutical companies; DANADAMS, Ernest Chemists and Kinapharma decided to post a bond for a factory so that we can produce the vaccine in Ghana. But if we want to do that, you have to order the material, but if you place an order, it takes 14 months for it to be delivered. Installation, technology transfer and bulk supply of vaccines from elsewhere will take approximately two years. ”
“What is happening now is that our German partners helped us locate a factory that was delivered to a company in Europe, but they did not use it. We know where it is, which is why the government has kicked off an order for this plant. We hope that it will arrive by the end of this year, installed, then by next year we will be able to make a suitable and completed vaccine in Ghana, ”he added.
National Institute of Vaccines
The Ghanaian government is about to invest some US $ 25 million as seed capital for the establishment of a National Vaccine Institute to lead the country’s efforts to produce vaccines locally.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo revealed this during his 26th update on measures taken by the government to reduce the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
He pointed out that the creation of the institute is part of the recommendations of a committee established by the government to formulate a concrete plan for the development and manufacture of vaccines in Ghana.
“We need to be self-sufficient in this regard in the future and better prepare to deal with such events in the future. To this end, the Committee that I established, under the leadership of the world-renowned Ghanaian scientist, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, to study Ghana’s potential as a vaccine manufacturing hub, to meet national and regional needs , presented its preliminary report which, among others, recommends the creation of a National Vaccine Institute to lead this development. ”
The Institute, according to the President, will be responsible for issuing six clear mandates:
1. Establish local vaccine manufacturing factories;
2. Deepening research and development (R&D) for vaccines in Ghana;
3. Upgrading and strengthening of the FDA;
4. Forging bilateral and multilateral partnerships for the manufacture of vaccines in various fields, such as financing, clinical trials, technology transfer, licensing and assignment of intellectual property rights;
5. Build the human resource base for vaccine discovery, development and manufacture; and
6. Establishment of a permanent national secretariat to coordinate the development and manufacture of vaccines
The president has already admitted that the country faces challenges with its vaccination program due to the difficulty of accessing COVID-19 vaccines.
He had explained earlier that global manufacturing, supply and distribution policy makes the situation even more difficult.
The new institute is thus expected to tackle the government’s difficulties in procuring vaccines for the population in Ghana and beyond in the near future.
—Citinenews—
Source link
