APA-Pretoria (South Africa) President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his appreciation for Belgium’s role in the fight against Covid-19 in South Africa and the rest of the continent.
Delivering his opening remarks during official talks with visiting Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde in Pretoria on Thursday, Ramaphosa said Belgium was an important donor to the vaccine alliance GAVI as well as the operationalisation of COVAX, the Covid -19 Vaccines Global Access initiative.
Belgium donated more than 10 million vaccine doses, of which a significant proportion were sent to countries in Africa, he said.
The South African leader said Belgium is also a partner in the mRNA Transfer Hub in Cape Town, with local firm Afrigen Biologics collaborating with Belgium’s Univercells Group to develop a novel mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.
“This cooperation will ensure that we are better prepared in the event of future health emergencies, and towards achieving our goal of producing the first African-owned coronavirus vaccine,” Ramaphosa said.
NM/jn/APA