ADDIS ABABA – Ministry of Health and Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) discussed areas to collaborate on building local vaccine manufacturing capacity in order to ease Ethiopia’s import dependency.
The East African nation spends more than 100 million US Dollars annually to meet its vaccine need.
Authorities are pushing for saving foreign currency spending on vaccines through import substitution.
The issue was a subject of discussions between IPDC’s CEO Aklilu Tadese and Health Minister Liya Tadese on Thursday.
The discussion was aimed at materializing the vaccine manufacturing project of the Health Ministry.
According to the IPDC, the two sides explored the common issues that should be done to produce vaccines in Industrial Park.
It says the two sides reached “a consensus” to save the foreign exchange Ethiopia spends to import vaccines by producing the Industrial vaccines locally.
Health Minister Lia says the manufacturing project will be set up in Kilinto Industrial Park.
“Building local Vaccine manufacturing capacity is key for health security,” the Minister said.
Kilinto Industrial Park, built on 279 hectares of land, is dedicated to the pharmaceutical sector. Currently, more than 14 investors are engaged in manufacturing medical supplies and medicines in the Park.
Other investors are also installing their manufacturing plants in the industrial Park as authorities push to reduce Ethiopia’s dependence on imported medicines.
On Friday, Investment Commission chief Lelise Neme visited Africure Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Ethiopia Plc’s ongoing project at the Park and said she was encouraged by the implementation progress.
Africure is a joint venture company owned by Ethiopian and foreign multinational investors. “With the vision of meeting national medicine demand and serving the regional market, Africure pharmaceutical plant is preparing to inaugurate production soon,” the commission said.
The nation spends more than a billion USD per annum to meet 85% of its pharmaceutical drugs demand. Authorities plan to cut the imports by half within 4 years by increasing local production.
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