Tafadzwa M. Sibindi

Research Scientist * Medical Affairs * Vaccines & Infectious Diseases * Global Public Health * Semper Aliquid Novi Africam Adferre

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

"Opportunities and challenges of leveraging COVID-19 vaccine innovation and technologies for developing sustainable vaccine manufacturing capabilities in Africa"

Possible sustainability models to ensure greater pandemic preparedne…https://t.co/KC4rv5ygWV https://t.co/JEOBlXEQEZ

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

AFCFTA: In Africa’s free trade area, investment in pharmaceuticals means impact and profit.

"Total demand for packaged medicines in Africa is worth around $18 billion annually, of which 61% is imported and 36% is locally produced…https://t.co/e6cuserBRV https://t.co/tVLAYIYIsK

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

Africa needs to vaccinate 33 million children to put PROGRESS back on track between 2023 and 2025

"The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunization services has driven up the number of zero-dose and under-…https://t.co/9WVZPten7J https://t.co/4UQpFvDd33

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

PROGRESS: WHO debuts mRNA tech hub in Africa - A new day has dawned in Africa’s quest to crank out cutting-edge vaccines as the World Health Organization (WHO) officially opened an mRNA vaccine hub in Cape Town, South Africa

#afri…https://t.co/vGY5JDe13o https://t.co/jpIlskHCwX

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

Time for Africa to tap into home-grown talent to build world-class academic research centres with a multi-disciplinary approach to drug discovery.

“Overdependence on health innovations developed in the global north is not sustain…https://t.co/DpFyu6zFgZ https://t.co/XYOmZ8w5XY

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

Bringing Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) out of the Silo

- Africa and Asia have the least access to basic sanitation facilities in the whole world
- In 2021, around 1.65 billion people were estimated to require treatment for at…https://t.co/pKJeW0G2ZQ https://t.co/zBbjyFJ4UC

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

Africa has great potential for setting up a drug discovery ecosystem. 

The continent has natural resources, indigenous knowledge and human capacity. And it has the need: it bears more than 20% of the global disease burden. 

Some…https://t.co/aRkNN3bJUW https://t.co/p50PRiTG1o

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

PROGRESS: South Africa's Aspen gets $30 million grant from CEPI and the Gates Foundation to make affordable vaccines on the African continent. Aspen partnered with the Serum Institute of India to manufacture and distribute pneumoco…https://t.co/kxHxY53t3H https://t.co/lqAB4xetnK

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

PROGRESS: Africa’s Efforts to Harmonize Regulation of Medicines Are Making Progress

The challenges the continent faces are daunting:
- poor supply chain systems
- lack of government investment in the pharmaceutical sector
- unfavo…https://t.co/3QwkvmWaoh https://t.co/yR81zRfRqm

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

Takeda’s QDENGA becomes the only Dengue Vaccine approved in the EU for use in individuals regardless of previous Dengue exposure.

“Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that spreads rapidly around the world and was one of the…https://t.co/l6FwKUTzEX https://t.co/pIiXDMV8Ma

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

PROGRESS: Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, has undertaken to adapt its approach to procuring vaccines in order to support African vaccine manufacturing.

"The COVID-19 pandemic exposed Africa’s vulnerability when the entire conti…https://t.co/MuBv3NRpEv https://t.co/DI9OY3tysj

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

AI DRUG DISCOVERY: Verge Genomics has begun one of the first clinical trials in humans of a drug discovered using artificial intelligence for ALS, a neurodegenerative disease.

#drugdiscovery #artificialintelligence #pharmaceuticals #neuroscience #als https://t.co/jViikGghdf

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

PROGRESS: Here's to continued vaccine manufacturing efforts to bring affordable essential medicines to the African continent - measles and rubella shots

#africa #senegal #vaccine #pharmaceutical #manufacturing https://t.co/C1jIxn7X17

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement Will Promote Pharmaceutical Trade Growth

#africa #afcfta #pharmaceutical #manufacturing #medicines https://t.co/SmvVhBfEsK

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

Addressing the disease landscape for the African continent and prioritising non-Covid vaccines could be a key step in fully utilizing mRNA technology as "The Answer" to sustainable local vaccine production.

#africa #vaccines #mrn…https://t.co/dMpP9T7SX2 https://t.co/E2c3ua60od

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

The urgent need for Quality Control and regulation of [sub-standard] imported medicines to the African continent is glaringly evident.

#gambia #africa #qualitycontrol #pharmaceutical #manufacturing https://t.co/PYn83e3aMg

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

It is becoming more and more evident that there exists an urgent need for the African continent to develop its own Intellectual Property

#africa #intellectualproperty #pharmaceutical #manufacturing #vaccineequity https://t.co/4x74IlYA1h

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

We CAN and We ARE.

#africa #kenya #pharmaceutical #manufacturing #malaria https://t.co/tvWaTabm4n

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 1.7 billion people worldwide are infected with at least one NTD each year. Malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and NTDs have been on…https://t.co/ERAHmaS0G8 https://t.co/iteCMXpMIr

[Tafadzwa M. Sibindi @drdrtaf]

BIO Africa 2022: Addressing Pharmaceutical Healthcare Innovation

The pandemic places spotlight on intellectual property rights.

"Varichem, a Zimbabwean drug manufacturer was forced to stop production of antiretrovirals (ARV) in 2…https://t.co/TTDIO757Yl https://t.co/69iA5SQaOc