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Kenya: President Kenyatta Roots for Expedited Pre-Qualification of Locally-Produced Health Products

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Nairobi — President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to expedite pre-qualification of locally produced health products to ensure market access.

Addressing the 75th World Health Assembly on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, President Kenyatta said that the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic exposed the overdependence of developing countries to external markets, which he noted hampered, efforts to speed up vaccine production and supply.

The Head of State emphasized the need for collaboration among all stakeholders across the globe to address the existing gaps.

“To support the sustainability of new manufacturing initiatives, all stakeholders must come together to address the financing, coordinated technology transfer including affirmative action as well as market access for locally manufactured products,” he said.

He called on GAVI, the GlobalFund, and other major vaccine and essential medicines purchasing organizations to lead the way in prioritizing procurement of these locally manufactured health products from the countries they “serve most.”

President Kenyatta further pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the scale of inequality across the world noting that developing and least developed countries have been worst hit by the economic shocks and disruptions to global supply systems as a result of the pandemic.

He stated that no single country or sector has been spared from the devastating impacts of the virus adding that the developing and least developed countries, which are more vulnerable to economic shocks and disruptions to global Supply systems have been the worst hit.