Akinwumi A. Adesina announces $3 Billion in funding to strengthen Africa's pharmaceutical industry
African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina paid a visit on Saturday to the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, the biomedical research center whose mission is to protect and promote public health.
The Pasteur Institute has invested heavily in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and excels in the production and distribution of human vaccines.
During his visit to the laboratories of this prestigious institution - with a sub-regional reach - the President of the African Development Bank Group spoke with researchers who he said, "are doing an excellent job."
Adesina said: "We will support the Pasteur Institute of Dakar financially for the production of rapid tests, pharmaceutical products and vaccines against Covid-19. I am impressed by the level of the expertise of the researchers."
Adesina announced that the African Development Bank will inject $3 billion into strengthening the African pharmaceutical industry. "We need to end the inequality in the distribution of vaccines. People are talking about the third, fourth and even fifth dose while in Africa we are still looking for the first dose," said the bank president.
"To control the pharmaceutical industry, you need technical capacity, raw material and infrastructure," the Bank chief said. "These are all reasons why the African Development Bank supports the African pharmaceutical sector. We must have the capacity to produce medicines here in Africa to ensure the health of our populations. We cannot depend on a health system that is concentrated outside the continent and leave the health of 1.4 billion people to the generosity of others, Adesina concluded.
