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European Commission Representation in Cyprus
News article27 June 2022Representation in Cyprus

EU-Africa matchmaking event to boost local health industrial ecosystems in Africa with more than 200 participants

European Development Days (EDD) 2022

Today and tomorrow, the Commission is organising a match-making event between European and African companies and a webinar on the Future of EU – Africa healthcare, in the framework of the ‘EU-Africa pharma and healthcare marketplace & matchmaking events', organised under the local manufacturing Team Europe Initiative. The event is gathering representatives of companies, research organisations and investors from the pharma and health care sectors and will be opened by Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the Internal Market; Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International  Partnerships, and H.E Cessouma Minata Samate, African Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development. The aim of the event is to support research and innovation as well as the manufacturing of high-quality, safe, effective and affordable medical products — vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, equipment and other health technologies— that can help to prevent and treat diseases prevalent in Africa as well as address global health needs. The companies registered for the webinar will have the chance to take part in two days of bilateral exchanges through the platform and explore possible cooperation opportunities to address global health challenges. Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the Internal Market, said: “The COVID pandemic, and more recently the war in Ukraine have revealed the vulnerability of global supply chains and reinforced the need of investing in local production. Right now 99% of vaccines used in Africa are imported – this is not futureproof. Europe is ready to be Africa's partner in building a strong and resilient local health industrial ecosystem. Our marketplace and the matchmaking events will harness the power of the private sector on both continents and foster more cooperation.”  Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships, said: “Learning together the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the future is bright for our EU-Africa healthcare cooperation. Under Global Gateway, we are working together with our African partners on producing medicines, vaccines and other health products for Africa, in Africa. Four days ago we broke ground on a state-of-the art mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Kigali. This is the way to strengthen health resilience – effective collaboration with and between governments, the private sector, regional and global actors, health professionals and civil society.” The ‘EU-Africa pharma and healthcare marketplace & matchmaking events' started on 18 May with a webinar on healthcare and pharma markets and the launch of the online ‘Marketplace', a Commission-run platform where companies could register to offer business or research opportunities and connect with each other. Jointly, the two webinars attracted over 600 participants from the private and public sectors, while more than 200 companies, researchers and investors are taking part in the marketplace. 

Details

Publication date
27 June 2022
Author
Representation in Cyprus