TUNISIA – Tunisian Minister of Health Dr Ali Mrabet met and had talks with a mission of senior World Health Organization (WHO) experts on the mRNA technology transfer initiative to produce mRNA vaccines on the African continent.
The mission of senior WHO experts had extensive meetings with all stakeholders including the Institut Pasteur de Tunis, national regulation authority, national drug control laboratory, pharmaceutical inspection among others directorates from the Ministry of Public Health and Technopole of Sidi Thabet.
Earlier, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the first six countries that will receive the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines on the African continent namely Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
Tunisia was selected to receive mRNA technology transfer as part of a WHO initiative aimed at ensuring manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries have all the necessary operating procedures and know-how to manufacture mRNA vaccines at scale and according to international standards.
The global mRNA technology transfer hub was established in 2021 to support manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines, ensuring that they have all the necessary operating procedures and know-how to manufacture mRNA vaccines at scale and according to international standards.
According to the World Health Organization, a mission of senior WHO experts recently met with the Minister of Health Dr Ali Mrabet to debrief him on the outcome of the discussion and the proposed action plan in preparation for the production of mRNA vaccine technology.
The United Nations agency explained that the mRNA technology transfer holds huge promise for increasing access to vaccines against COVID-19 as well as access to vaccines, tests and treatments for other diseases including malaria, leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, rabies and cancer.
WHO and partners will work with the Tunisian Government to develop a roadmap and put in place the necessary training and support so that the country can start producing vaccines as soon as possible in a bid to address health emergencies.
Furthermore, WHO will work closely with the Ministry of Public Health and all partners to ensure safety and quality of vaccine production in Tunisia while the mRNA vaccine plant will create jobs and economic opportunity.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown vulnerabilities in medical product supply chains dependent on a small number of manufacturers for raw materials and finished products,” highlights the World Health Organization.
In addition, the WHO initiative will allow Tunisia to make its own locally-manufactured vaccines thus improving access to quality-assured medical products while supporting the attainment of universal health coverage (UHC) and other health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“One of the most obvious lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is the urgent need to increase local production of vaccines especially in low- and middle-income countries,” WHO said on its website.
WHO pointed out that the diversification of production is key to having a reliable supply of safe and efficacious medicines, vaccines and other health products, adding that more than 10 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally.
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