WHO Director-General's Opening Remarks at Vaccine Equity for Africa First Groundbreaking  BioNTech SE - 23 June 2022

Your Excellency, President Kagame,

Your Excellency, President Akufo-Addo,

Your Excellency President Irfaan Ali,

Your Excellency AU Chairperson Faki Mahamat,

Your Excellency, Minister Sall,

And my friend, Professor Uğur Şahin,

Excellencies, distinguished guests, dear colleagues and friends,

It is an honour to join you today for the establishment of this new manufacturing facility in our continent.

I want to congratulate Professor Şahin for the achievement of not only developing a highly effective mRNA vaccine to tackle COVID-19 but for also working to boost manufacturing in Rwanda and in the whole continent, which will help serve the continent to address the challenge of equity which we have witnessed during this pandemic. And I also thank His Excellency President Kagame for his vision and for making it happen.

I wish BioNTech and the Government of Rwanda every success in their endeavour.

You have WHO's full support.

The world can be proud of our many scientific advancements for COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccines.

However, in the end, science is only a tool, and it is only as good as the hands that use it.

The pandemic has exposed huge inequalities across and within countries, which means that two years on, the world continues to struggle to bring it under control.

We talk a lot about nobody being left behind.

Well, in fact, that's just what happened, as many low-and-middle income countries, particularly in Africa, have been the last to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

Today, high-income countries have received an average of two doses per person. But low-income countries are only getting about two doses for every 10 people.

We cannot live in a world where somebody's income means their life has one-tenth of the value of somebody who is richer.

That is why today's ground-breaking for this new manufacturing facility is so important.

The best way to deal with inequity is to put the tools in the hands of those who need them the most.

I am grateful to the countries and multilateral organizations that have supported this effort, especially the African Union and the European Union.

I am grateful to BioNTech for its vision to build this facility in Rwanda.

WHO and its partners have been seeking to expand the capacity of low- and middle-income countries to produce COVID-19 vaccines and scale-up manufacturing.

This is critical both for bringing the pandemic under control, for preparing for and mitigating future outbreaks, and for addressing other public health threats.

Collaborative work to accelerate the building of capacity in the continent is critical to tackling future epidemics and pandemics.

Last year, WHO and our partners established the first technology transfer hub in South Africa for mRNA vaccine technology.

This initiative will initially prioritise mRNA-vaccine technology, but in the future could expand to other technologies, to enable production of other vaccines and biotherapeutics.

WHO is committed to working with you and our partners internationally and in Africa, to build the continent's capacities and strengthen its self-reliance and resilience.

WHO will continue to support every effort to expand access to safe and effective vaccines and medicines globally, to bring the pandemic under control and drive a truly inclusive and sustainable recovery.

And we will focus on the following three areas:

One, maturity level of regulatory bodies, as has been indicated by both President Kagame and President Akufo-Addo. We will continue to support you, because it is the national regulatory capacity which is going to be important at the end of the day.

Second, strengthening the African Medicines Agency. We will continue to support AMA, both technically and financially, and in speeding up its establishment.

And third, Rwanda, Ghana and Senegal are working collaboratively, and we will make sure that the mRNA South Africa hub also supports this effort, so that we can help to bring continental production capacity to the highest level possible.

You have WHOs full support, because this is a strategic solution to the serious problem that we have faced during this pandemic. You have our full support.

So, thank you so much President Kagame for your leadership, and also Professor Şahin. Thank you so much for inviting me today, it is a great honour.

Thank you.