The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says a strategic solution to the equal distribution of vaccines is for developing nations to have their own capacity to produce vaccines. “It is really important to build our own capacity in systems, processes and institutions,” Dr Tedros said during a high-level meeting with Namibia’s Head of State, His Excellency Dr Hage Geingob, on 30 August 2023.

Dr Tedros told the Namibian President that the WHO established the mRNA Vaccine Technology Hub in June 2021 in South Africa with the aim to address the challenge of inequitable vaccine distributions that developing countries experienced during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. 
The WHO Chief said that the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated how “unfair” the world can be with the distribution of vaccines.  “This is one world, and equity and vaccines access, especially during the pandemic, should be possible,” Dr Tedros said. “But while pushing for that, there needs to be strategic solutions to the problems Africa is experiencing.”

“During the pandemic for instance, equitable distribution of vaccines was key, and that’s why we have established the mRNA Vaccine Technology Hub in South Africa and 15 countries from the south are participating,” said the WHO Director-General. He said the mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub was not only established for Covid-19.  “It can be used for malaria, HIV, tuberculosis (TB), cancer and so on. So, the strategic solution is having local capacity. We need to have our own capacity that we can tap into,” said Dr Tedros.

In support of building strong institutions, processes, and structures not only for public health but as part of good governance, His Excellency, Dr Hage Geingob reflected on the unequal distribution of vaccines during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Namibia was a self-financing country and received her COVID-19 vaccine through COVAX on 16 April 2021. 

HE Dr Geingob said that the COVID-19 pandemic “taught us that we are one in this world. There was no discrimination, no rich countries, no poor countries. We all suffered equally, and I hope that it taught us that it’s one world we are living in.”  

The purpose of Dr Tedros’s two-day official visit was to strengthen collaboration on public health matters of mutual concern for the organization and the Government of Namibia.