Moderna to build mRNA facility in Kenya

Pharmaceutical company Moderna has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kenya's government to set up an mRNA manufacturing plant in the country, the first on the continent.

According to the agreement, whose signing was witnessed by Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, Moderna expects to invest about $500 million in the facility and supply as many as 500 million doses of mRNA vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, to the African continent each year.

Kenyatta said his country is pleased to partner with Moderna in the establishment of the mRNA manufacturing facility to help prepare the country and sister African states, through the African Union, to respond to future health crises and stave off a pandemic in the future.

The MoU was signed by Mutahi Kagwe, Kenya's health cabinet secretary on behalf of the Kenyan government, while Shannon Klinger, Moderna's chief legal officer, signed on behalf of the company.

Currently Africa, which is the least-vaccinated region in the world against the coronavirus, imports about 99 percent of its vaccine needs, according to the World Health Organization.