A consultant on African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI), Dr. Alexander Ochem has expressed his displeasure over the poor investment in research and development which has continued to stifle sustainable development across Africa.
Ochem stated this recently at the 7th African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity held at Civil Centre, Lagos.
The three-day event with the theme: ‘Universal approach to addressing biosecurity threats: Genomic intelligence and vaccines’ was organised by the Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium (GET) with the support of its partners.
According to him, despite the abundant human and natural resources on the African continent, African countries continue to depend heavily on foreign funding for research and development for Africa’s problems.
Ochem who spoke on the topic: ‘The Role of African Government and Indigenous Manufacturers in Vaccine R&D’ made specific reference to the outbreak of Ebola and the present Covid-19 pandemic in which Africa is relying heavily on foreign donors for vaccines such as Astrazeneca, Johnson and Johnson, and others.
Presenting a 12 point development agenda, Ochem insisted that until Africa starts taking responsibility for its development according to its own internal terms and developmental needs, it would continue to be a paper giant and remain backward in the global development affairs.
In her words, Executive Director of Centre for 21st Century Issues, Titilope Akosa stated that community awareness continues to be the tool deployed to reach remote neighbourhoods who are unaware of the pandemic.
Also, Executive Director, African Technology Policy Studies Network, Dr. Nicholas Ozor, in his presentation titled ‘Developing Effective Policies for Tackling Adverse Effect of Climate Change on the Health Sector in Africa’ called for the regulation of the use of fossil fuels, implementation of environmental compliance laws, promotion of climate smart agricultural practices and importantly, investment in research and development among others as the panacea for effective policies for tackling the adverse effects of climate change.