The Republic of Senegal, the European Commission, several Member States (France, Germany, Belgium) and the European Investment Bank (‘Team Europe’) signed an agreement on Friday 9 July in Dakar to accelerate preparations for the monthly production of 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of 2022 by the Institut Pasteur in Dakar.
Currently ‘Team Europe’ is supplying a non-repayable €6.75 million grant (€4.75 million from the Commission and the EIB, €1.8 million from France, €200,000 from Germany) for technical feasibility studies and preparation of the new facility at the Institut Pasteur in Dakar. Eventually, the EU NDICI financial instrument could also contribute (see EUROPE 12737/4).
The Senegalese Minister of the Economy, Amadou Hott, said in a press release that this project will make it possible to “lay the foundations for the country’s pharmaceutical and medical sovereignty and to participate in achieving that of the continent”.
While Africa imports 99% of its Covid-19 vaccines, the Senegalese plant should help it cover 60% of its vaccine needs, said EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton, who represented the Commission on site, via Twitter. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)