The African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) hosted Ghana’s Minister of Health, Bernard Okoe Boye, and his group on Monday, August 12, for a fact-finding tour at the vaccine development and production operations in Cape Town, South Africa.
This crucial visit was intended to promote South Africa’s vaccine production capabilities and to identify potential areas of collaboration between Ghana and South Africa to improve vaccine accessibility and healthcare infrastructure.
The high-level Ghanaian team visited two local South African companies – Biovac, a biopharmaceutical company, and Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines, a biotechnology company – to see their cutting-edge facilities, research and development labs, production lines, and quality control departments.
“The Government of Ghana is committed fully in supporting the African manufacturing initiative and supporting all stakeholders that are on this path of building capacity in the continent,” Dr Okoe Boye said.
The visit follows the European Union’s (EU) recent announcement of a €32 million (about R636.5 million) effort to increase vaccine production in Ghana.
Professor William Ampofo, executive director of AVMI and chief executive of Ghana’s National Vaccine Institute, is optimistic that the global initiative will foster local vaccine development.
“There is a pressing need to strengthen public-private partnerships to support the vaccines industry. The visit aims to enhance collaboration between the two countries, focusing on opportunities for knowledge exchange and capacity building, as well as advancing public health and biotechnological innovation,” Prof Ampofo said.
The 11-member group included representatives from Ghana’s ministry of health, ministry of finance, the Food and Drugs Authority, vaccine production companies, and local research institute experts.
AVMI represents over 18 manufacturers on the continent and, with the backing of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, has established itself as the voice of the African vaccine production business.
(IOL)