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President William Ruto Tuesday hailed Kenya’s membership in the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) as a significant step towards achieving self-reliance in vaccine production. IVI is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 with the goal of making vaccines accessible and affordable globally.
During his attendance at the 2024 South Korea-Africa Summit, President Ruto secured a commitment from IVI to establish a regional headquarters in Nairobi. This new office will serve as both a country and project office for the organization.
“Increased vaccine availability will significantly improve our primary healthcare delivery and disease prevention efforts,” Ruto said.
Kenya has been engaged in discussions with IVI regarding the development of effective and affordable vaccines. Last November, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha met with IVI’s leadership, led by Director General Jerome Kim, during the World Bio Summit in Seoul. At this meeting, Kenya expressed its commitment to hosting IVI’s continental office.
The collaboration between Kenya and IVI strengthens an existing partnership. IVI has previously collaborated with the Kenya BioVax Institute (KBI) on technology transfer and manufacturing support. KBI is the government agency leading Kenya’s initiative to establish local human vaccine production capacity, aiming to combat vaccine-preventable diseases during outbreaks and pandemics.
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