Zambia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China to build the South African country’s first cholera vaccine manufacturing plant.
The first phase of the project, signed on Monday, is worth $37 million. About three million doses will be produced through a joint venture between Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Jijia International Medical Technology Corporation.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said the development was a key step in the country’s efforts to eradicate the disease.
We are also sending a signal that Zambia, Africa and the globe are able to work together. Zambia must be looked at as a center, as a location to manufacture for a bigger market. And if you look at the population of Africa, it is growing very rapidly.
Hichilema expects the project to be commercially viable. There was no room for bureaucracy in its implementation as it would save lives, he added.
China will donate about three million doses of cholera vaccine before production begins. This is a year-round disease across the southern African country, especially during the rainy season. Although it can be cured, it remains deadly.
