No images? Click here
19 April 2023
MEDIA ADVISORY
Briefing on Inauguration of mRNA Technology Hub in South Africa
What: Media Briefing on the Inauguration of the mRNA technology Hub facility at Afrigen, South Africa.
When: Thursday, 20th April, Cape Town, South Africa, 08.00 local time (in person & via zoom link)
Who: World Health Organization Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, South Africa Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla, high-level officials from funding countries, and international participants.
How tojoin:
https://who.zoom.us/j/92782609879
Password: VPC+mRNA20
Phone access:
International numbers available: https://who.zoom.us/u/aeBYypxzf8
Webinar ID: 927 8260 9879
Numeric code for phone access: 4304727128
Why: WHO and the Medicines Patent Pool have established a Technology Transfer Program for mRNA vaccines in South Africa supported by EU, France, Germany, Canada and other local and international partners. Their plan is to build manufacturing capacity in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) to produce mRNA vaccines with a view to improve health security in LMICs through local and/or regional production of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines as a primary target.
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that gross inequity exists in access to health products, especially vaccines. As of March 2023, more than three years after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), 69.7% of the global population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Notably, this proportion still remains below 30% in low-income countries.
The launch of the hub at Afrigen in Cape Town is a high-level event with over 200 participants coming together over 5 days. This end-to-end mRNA vaccine development and production facility at Afrigen will be soon be completed and ready for use. It is the first tangible deliverable of the mRNA vaccine technology transfer program.
LINK: The mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub (who.int)
Medicines Patent Pool enquiries: Gelise McCullough +41 79 685 64 36 (Geneva) press@medicinespatentpool.org
World Health Organization: Sarah Sheppard Media inquiries mediainquiries@who.int
Media contacts:
You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list.
If you have been forwarded this update you can click here to subscribe.
Journalists may send feedback to WHO Media Team
