The move is expected to potentially add impetus to the continent's role in vaccine manufacturing global value chain as well as capabilities.
The development follows a recent cabinet decision to approve the establishment of the
Vaccine manufacturing requires advanced regulatory capability as well as a highly skilled human capital, according to
Thus, he said, the institute will be mandated to provide training and qualification for this industry.
Mpunga exclusively told The New Times on Thursday, that the initiative has already attracted several universities in
"Before the end of the year, we want to start with operations. Local Universities are expected to contribute to the initiative because of the setup," he said.
Despite Universities, the country is also turning to different training providers as well as private sector partners for workforce development, from short courses to graduate degrees.
Fully funded training
The training is expected to be fully funded by various partners including the government,
"The plan is to select competency based courses and we send the professionals for training," he added, "Depending on the nature of the course, one student can study a single course from different academic institutions."
Recently, President
The plant is being built in the
During the ceremony,
Like many African countries however, the country lacks enough talent, a gap that is set to be depleted by the institute.
Mpunga is of the belief that
"It is not just about a specific plant being constructed, as we continue to attract such investments, there is a sense of readiness that is required for us to build enough pipelines."
From north to south, experts say that continental manufacturing capabilities are limited, mainly due to the setup of value chains.
The new institute, Mpunga says, has been designed in such a way that it positions itself as another avenue to reverse the trend.
He said that beneficiaries include different professionals from around the continent with no exception.
"The programme is very agile, we plan to look at what is needed, build around it and also partner with universities to acquire the skills," he said.
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