<\/p>\n
The project forms part of an expansion programme that will raise Biovac\u2019s total annual manufacturing capacity to as much as 500 million doses.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Once completed, the facility is expected to make Biovac Africa\u2019s first end-to-end producer of oral cholera vaccines and South Africa\u2019s (SA) first local producer of inactivated polio vaccines. The project will also make Biovac the first producer of inactivated polio vaccines on the continent through technology-transfer partnerships with Sanofi, the International Vaccine Institute, Biological E Limited, EuBiologics and Bharat Biotech.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Africa currently imports more than 99% of vaccines used on the continent, despite carrying a large share of the global burden of vaccine-preventable diseases. The African Union has set a target for Africa to produce 60% of vaccines locally by 2040.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation Solomon Quaynor said the investment forms part of a wider push to strengthen Africa\u2019s health security.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThis investment in Biovac is about much more than expanding vaccine production capacity. It is about building Africa\u2019s health sovereignty, strengthening regional value chains, and creating industrial capabilities that will enable the continent to respond more effectively to future health emergencies,\u201d Quaynor said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Quaynor said the project would help shift Africa from dependence on imported vaccines towards local production. \u201cBy supporting Africa\u2019s first end-to-end oral cholera vaccine manufacturing facility and the continent\u2019s first local production of inactivated polio vaccine, we are helping transform Africa from a consumer of imported vaccines into a producer of critical health solutions,\u201d Quaynor said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Biovac Chief Executive Officer Morena Makhoana welcomed AfDB\u2019s involvement. \u201cWe welcome the AfDB as a partner in this landmark project and are proud that an institution so central to Africa’s development sees in Biovac the same opportunity we see, a chance to fundamentally shift the continent’s relationship with its own health security,\u201d Makhoana said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Makhoana said the project would help change Africa\u2019s vaccine production profile. \u201cThe project will shift the narrative from majority-imported vaccines to majority-exported vaccines,\u201d Makhoana said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The project is expected to create about 340 full-time jobs, with 43% expected to go to women and 30% to young people. Biovac, which already employs more than 300 staff, will also expand training in vaccine manufacturing, quality control and regulatory science.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB Director General for Southern Africa and Country Manager for SA Kennedy Mbekeani said the project targets vaccines needed across the continent. \u201cThis project allows one of Africa’s most experienced manufacturers to scale up exactly where the need is greatest: vaccines that protect children from cholera, polio, pneumonia and meningitis,\u201d Mbekeani said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The new facility is expected to be completed by 2028 and will initially produce oral cholera vaccines before expanding to inactivated polio, pneumonia and meningitis vaccines.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB joins a syndicate led by the International Finance Corporation, with support from the Human Development Accelerator programme, the European Investment Bank, the Gates Foundation and other global health partners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40605,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,44,26],"class_list":["post-40604","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The African Development Bank (AfDB) has finalised a loan of up to $15 million to the Biologicals and Vaccines Institute of South Africa (Biovac) to support construction of a multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town.","published_date":"","news_description":"The African Development Bank (AfDB) has finalised a loan of up to $15 million to the Biologicals and Vaccines Institute of South Africa (Biovac) to support construction of a multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40606,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40604\/revisions\/40606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}