28 Mar 2022

The launch of NantBotswana, a vaccine manufacturing plant,  is an important layer for the achievement of national development imperatives, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.

 Launching the project in Gaborone yesterday, he said it had brought the country closer to the realisation of government’s digitisation efforts.

“The project is important to me personally, to be able to deliver on the promises that government pledged to Batswana particularly to drive the transformational development agenda of Botswana from resource-based to knowledge-based economy as espoused in our National Vision 2036,” he said.

 To be housed at Botswana Digital and Innovation Hub, the plant will  manufacture sub-Saharan Africa’s first-ever COVID-19 vaccine, Pula Corbevax.

President Masisi said NantBotswana confirmed that the plant would not only focus on addressing the COVID-19 challenge but would tackle other ailments.

“The plant is well primed to assist Botswana’s efforts related to establishing advanced cancer treatment technologies; oncology centre of excellence,” he said.

President Masisi described  the project as future-oriented in addressing pressing health challenges as well as responding to future global health crises.

He said the nation was greatly indebted to Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong and the NantBotswana team for their commitment to contributing to the global efforts in response to the COVID-19 health crisis. 

“This is particularly noteworthy in the African region which bears a disproportionate disease burden exacerbated by the limitation of resources and capabilities to address these public health challenges. We are determined to dictate a new legacy associated with access to medicines, vaccines and other health technologies,” said Dr Masisi.

The President said the investment would also facilitate efforts to accelerate attainment of the 2030 Agenda  particularly in advancing linkages between the sustainable development goal on good health and wellbeing and the one on partnership for global goals.

Dr Masisi noted that at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Botswana was dealt a heavy blow by lack of pharmaceutical productive capacity for vaccines. 

“We suffered preventable deaths due to the non-availability of vaccines as more advanced economies secured vaccines first, including more than what their countries needed at the time,” said President Masisi.

Despite the significant resources invested by government in securing vaccines and relentless efforts to appeal bilaterally to developed countries and pharmaceutical companies, President Masisi said the response was painfully slow.

Disparities in the distribution of vaccines across the world resulted in a lopsided vaccination drive that seriously hampered efforts to effectively contain COVID-19 worldwide, he said. 

He said establishment of the facility would go a long way in changing the narrative and contribute to ongoing global efforts aimed at efficiently dislodging the suffocating grip of COVID-19.

Dr Masisi said other than vaccine manufacturing, Botswana was looking forward to the positive knock-on effects of skills and technologies transfer, retaining economic value locally and job creation.

Expressing excitement at the project’s prospects, particularly as NantWorks planned to build pharmaceutical productive capacities strategically across Africa, Dr Masisi said he was hopeful for extension of the NantWorks partnership to other initiatives aimed at driving the digital transformation agenda. Ends