𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗥𝗡𝗔 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹: 𝗔 𝗣𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆

Africa’s burden of disease and inequities in vaccine access highlight the urgent need for local production and research to address health challenges.

To address this disparity, on June 21, 2021, World Health Organization and Medicines Patent Pool launched an mRNA Technology Transfer Center in South Africa, with the support of European Union and other local and international partners. One of the key objectives of this project is to “Establish or strengthen sustainable mRNA vaccine production capacity where it is non-existent or limited”.

Senegal is one of the first six African countries to be selected to receive mRNA vaccine production technology, and Institut Pasteur de Dakar was nominated by the government of Senegal as the technology recipient.

This week, Ministère de la Santé et de l’Action Sociale invited a delegation from World Health Organization and Medicines Patent Pool to launch the local mRNA technology transfer program in Senegal. We were delighted to welcome the delegation, as well as @ARP, to our campus for a full day of engaging discussions at Institut Pasteur de Dakar.

Discussions focused on the technical aspects of the technology transfer, showcasing progress, challenges, and discussing research and diseases targeted. It was also an opportunity to explore collaboration with @ARP to prepare for future mRNA vaccine inspections.

Institut Pasteur de Dakar extends its gratitude once again to the Government of Senegal for its nomination as the technology recipient and all partners for their commitment and support.