Amref Health Africa, AstraZeneca, and the Ministry of Health in Kenya are all joining forces to help solve vaccination inequality in Kenya.
The team will be launching movable clinics to bring COVID-19 vaccines and other services to rural communities across Kenya. Each of the clinics will aim to vaccinate between 70-100 people each day and will provide patients with post-immunization care. To facilitate access to hard-to-reach communities, the clinics will be fitted with solar-powered fridges and backup energy supplies.
Recently, more pharma giants are expressing commitment and taking action to help mitigate vaccination inequalities and health access disparities across the African continent. Earlier this week, BioNTech announced that construction work for its first modular mRNA manufacturing facility on the African continent — located in Kigali, Rwanda— had started. Back in March, Moderna also inked a deal with the government of the Republic of Kenya to build a state-of-the-art $500 million facility that will focus on drug substance manufacturing in effort to mitigate the vaccination rate inequalities.
Pelin Incesu, AstraZeneca’s area vice president for the Middle East and Africa, reiterated the company’s excitement to bring the project to life, “We are thrilled to launch this innovative partnership with the Ministry of Health and Amref Health Africa to ensure that no Kenyan is left behind in our efforts to protect lives from COVID-19 and other life-threatening diseases."