Rwanda signs $3.6m deal with EU to upgrade labs for Covid jab production

Rwanda on Wednesday signed a Rwf 3.6 billion ($3.6 million) partnership with the European Union to help upgrade the country’s laboratory capacity to help it attract investors that will manufacture Covid-19 vaccines.

The funds will be invested in Rwanda’s Foods and Drugs Authority establishing a strong quality control for medical products, which will help the authority achieve the required certification by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“What we signed is a step to revamp and also strengthen the Rwanda Foods and Drugs Authority. The money we will receive from the EU will support the acquisition of laboratory equipment to make it a modern facility that will enable Rwanda to get a WHO certification,” Ms Clare Akamanzi, Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda Development Board told CNBC Africa on Thursday.

“The WHO certification we need for this will also build the confidence of investors who want to produce vaccines. They (investors) will be able to trust the regulatory capacity we want to strengthen with this funding.”

Rwanda plans to start manufacturing coronavirus vaccines using mRNA technology after it secured international backing to build local capacity in the coming months.

Last week, Rwandan President Paul Kagame told the Qatar Economic Forum that the negotiations with partners to manufacture vaccines locally have advanced and the process will start “in a few months.”

He was speaking shortly after Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa were announced as potential candidates for hosting Africa’s regional Covid-19 vaccines production hubs.

“For Rwanda, in particular, we have partnered with some industries that are specialising in mRNA technology. So, we have already discussed that technology with people who will help with financing and I think in a few months we should hear a different story,” President Kagame said.

Africa, President Kagame said, has to be an equal partner with the rest of the world and manufacture vaccines as the continent continues to grapple with a blockage on supplies. 

*Written by Ange Iliza and Berna Namata