ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia is making an effort to cover 60% of its vaccine demand at home by 2040, Ministry of Health announced.

Health State Minister Frehiwot Abebe told the journalists that the country is undertaking several works to produce 60% of vaccines in the next 16 years.

One of the most important national strategic activities that are being carried out by the government is to increase domestic production including medical resources, and making quality health services fairly accessible to citizens by substituting imported products, she highlighted.

The African continent consumes nearly 25% of the globally produced vaccines to cover the 99% of the supply, Frehiwot said, adding that Ethiopia also imports 99 % of the vaccines it requires.

The Ministry of Health is collaborating with relevant stakeholders and partners to capacitate and support manufacturers in the health industry to produce vaccines and health ingredients domestically, she indicated.

Ethiopia has an existing indigenous knowledge and culture of using its natural resources for medicinal purposes. Accordingly, she said, traditional medicine is widely practiced in the country.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health is carrying out multifaceted activities to produce the medicines scientifically through paying strategic attention to research and creating a self-sufficient organization in the sphere, according to the State Minister.

She called upon concerned bodies to strengthen their support and combine this valuable indigenous knowledge with modern medical practices and turn it into results.