Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectives

Abstract Africa carries a high burden of infectious diseases. Every year, millions of Africans contract tuberculosis, malaria, and many other diseases. Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of children under the age of five years annually. More than 11,000 people died during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbre...

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Main Authors: AbdulRahman A Saied, Asmaa A Metwally, Manish Dhawan, Om Prakash Choudhary, Hani Aiash
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2022-06-01
Series:EMBO Molecular Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202216287
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author AbdulRahman A Saied
Asmaa A Metwally
Manish Dhawan
Om Prakash Choudhary
Hani Aiash
author_facet AbdulRahman A Saied
Asmaa A Metwally
Manish Dhawan
Om Prakash Choudhary
Hani Aiash
author_sort AbdulRahman A Saied
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Africa carries a high burden of infectious diseases. Every year, millions of Africans contract tuberculosis, malaria, and many other diseases. Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of children under the age of five years annually. More than 11,000 people died during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa; still, occasional cases of Ebola, as well as monkeypox, periodically appear in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since most of the African countries gained their independence during the 1960s, the continent has relied heavily on the outside world for diagnostics, medicines, vaccines, personal protective equipment, and other medical supplies. Africa consumes nearly 25% of the globally produced vaccines but imports 99% and 95% of its vaccines and medicines, respectively. The 55 African countries were not able to ensure the health of 1.3 billion Africans during the COVID‐19 pandemic but had to rely on other global initiatives and other countries for help and support. However, the pandemic and the shortage of vaccines may have been the much‐needed trigger for this situation to change. “When misfortunes increase, they erase each other.” Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006).
format Article
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issn 1757-4676
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publishDate 2022-06-01
publisher Springer Nature
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series EMBO Molecular Medicine
spelling doaj-art-da7acc1098984a12b03e6c61c90f608f2025-08-20T03:05:54ZengSpringer NatureEMBO Molecular Medicine1757-46761757-46842022-06-011481610.15252/emmm.202216287Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectivesAbdulRahman A Saied0Asmaa A Metwally1Manish Dhawan2Om Prakash Choudhary3Hani Aiash4National Food Safety Authority (NFSA)Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan UniversityDepartment of Microbiology, Punjab Agricultural UniversityDepartment of Veterinary Anatomy and Histology, College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Central Agricultural University (I), SelesihDepartment of Family Medicine, Suez Canal UniversityAbstract Africa carries a high burden of infectious diseases. Every year, millions of Africans contract tuberculosis, malaria, and many other diseases. Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of children under the age of five years annually. More than 11,000 people died during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa; still, occasional cases of Ebola, as well as monkeypox, periodically appear in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since most of the African countries gained their independence during the 1960s, the continent has relied heavily on the outside world for diagnostics, medicines, vaccines, personal protective equipment, and other medical supplies. Africa consumes nearly 25% of the globally produced vaccines but imports 99% and 95% of its vaccines and medicines, respectively. The 55 African countries were not able to ensure the health of 1.3 billion Africans during the COVID‐19 pandemic but had to rely on other global initiatives and other countries for help and support. However, the pandemic and the shortage of vaccines may have been the much‐needed trigger for this situation to change. “When misfortunes increase, they erase each other.” Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006).https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202216287AfricaCOVID‐19manufacturingmRNA vaccinevaccines
spellingShingle AbdulRahman A Saied
Asmaa A Metwally
Manish Dhawan
Om Prakash Choudhary
Hani Aiash
Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectives
EMBO Molecular Medicine
Africa
COVID‐19
manufacturing
mRNA vaccine
vaccines
title Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectives
title_full Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectives
title_fullStr Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectives
title_short Strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in Africa: challenges and perspectives
title_sort strengthening vaccines and medicines manufacturing capabilities in africa challenges and perspectives
topic Africa
COVID‐19
manufacturing
mRNA vaccine
vaccines
url https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202216287
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AT asmaaametwally strengtheningvaccinesandmedicinesmanufacturingcapabilitiesinafricachallengesandperspectives
AT manishdhawan strengtheningvaccinesandmedicinesmanufacturingcapabilitiesinafricachallengesandperspectives
AT omprakashchoudhary strengtheningvaccinesandmedicinesmanufacturingcapabilitiesinafricachallengesandperspectives
AT haniaiash strengtheningvaccinesandmedicinesmanufacturingcapabilitiesinafricachallengesandperspectives