Kigali, Monday 12 April 2021 - President Kagame has on Monday attended the virtual Conference on Expanding Africa’s Vaccine Manufacturing chaired by President Felix Tshisekedi of the DR Congo, current chairperson of the African Union.

Addressing the meeting, President Kagame noted that Africa needs to expand production capacity for vaccines and other essential medical products. “For Africa to move from being very sorry for ourselves, we have to take the blame for that and move from what we know hasn’t worked well for Africa to something we can do.” President Kagame said.

President Kagame further insisted that vaccine equity cannot be guaranteed by goodwill alone. Africa needs to and should be capable of producing its own vaccines and medical products. Rwanda commits to working with member states and partners to make vaccine equity a reality.

The meeting convened by the African Union Commission and its technical institution strengthening the capacity of Member States to respond quickly and effectively to disease threats; the Africa CDC discussed the strategy for the manufacturing of vaccines in Africa.

For full speech, click here