Rwanda on Monday, March 13, received the first BioNTainer, a set of six shipping containers by German biotechnology company BioNTech, which will enable the country to setup an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility- the first of its kind on the African continent.

In Rwanda, the factory will be stationed in Kigali Special Economic Zone where the plant is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Once complete, the factory will be having the capacity to produce between 50 and 100 million doses of mRNA vaccines annually. Besides Covid-19 vaccines, the facility will also help conduct trials on new therapeutics for malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV, cancers and other diseases.

According to Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, the development comes at a crucial time and will help close the existing gap in Research and Development on the African continent.

“This is an important milestone not only for Rwanda, but also for Africa, which contributes only 2% to clinical trial research output. With this mRNA production capacity, we expect a significant increase in the continent's contribution to global science and pandemic preparedness,” he said.

Nsanzimana also said that beyond the milestone in Rwanda’s health care, the technology also provides various educational and economic benefits among others.

According to BioNTech, vaccines manufactured in Rwanda will be distributed to other African Union member states at a not-for-profit price.

Rwanda has become the pioneer country as the biotechnology company moves to setup alike facilities in two other African countries, Senegal and South Africa, in the near future.