Senegal heads $1 COVID-19 testing kit manufacturing
In this article, we detail why the partnership between United Kingdom medical company Mologic Ltd and Senegalese research foundation Institut Pasteur de Dakar’s development of an affordable COVID-19 testing kit is providing hope for Africa during the coronavirus outbreak.
A worldwide crisis, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has now been a matter of concern and making headlines all over. African governments have become the latest to have this novel virus on their agenda as cases continue to spiral.
Based on the latest figures from the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa, forty two African countries and territories have reported a total of 967 confirmed cases. Egypt recorded the continent’s first case on 14th February.
As a continent burdened by other ailments and problems (including malaria, HIV/Aids and tuberculosis along with inequitable access to quality healthcare), Africa needs entirely unique solutions in its fight against COVID-19.
Unique solution for Africa
It was time-consuming to get results from sample tests, prompting Nigerian molecular bioengineer Nnaemeka Ndodo to identify a major problem caused by the lack of reliable infrastructure.
According to a report by Bloomberg Africa, “Ndodo had to collect samples from a hospital an hour away in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, then wait for six hours to get the results in what’s one of only five laboratories able to test for the virus in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, with about 200 million people.”
Taking into cognisance the contagious nature of coronavirus, infections can rapidly spread in an area due to the lack of awareness caused by people not knowing their status. This is why providing cheaper test kits that shorten the wait to 10 minutes may play a significant role in curbing the spread of the virus. Senegalese Institut Pasteur de Dakar and United Kingdom medical company Mologic Ltd are in the process of achieving just that.
Professor Paul Davis, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Mologic, said, “As seen with the COVID-19 outbreak, viruses can quickly transmit between populations; however, our knowledge to tackle this threat has also grown exponentially.
“For rapid epidemic preparedness and response, we need to develop a platform that is readily modified according to a novel pathogen, as we are demonstrating through our accelerated programmes for Ebola and COVID-19.”
The COVID-19 Testing kit
The COVID-19 test kit uses technology from home pregnancy, malaria saliva test and finger-prick kits. It may be ready for sale from June 2020 for less than $1 USD per piece. DiaTropix, a newly established Senegalese diagnostics manufacturing facility, spearheads the manufacturing of the test kits.
On having the manufacturing done in Africa, Joe Fitchett, medical director at Mologic, said, “There is an opportunity to ensure production is driven by demand and health need, rather than commercial return.”
In a report by Bloomberg Africa, Muhammad Ali Pate, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group, said, “you will see areas where cases have not been detected . . . That may reflect that the virus isn’t there. But it may be telling us something else: that they may not have the capability to test.”
What it means for other African Countries is that test kits, once manufactured, are to be made available and sold to governments across the continent. An approach that could equip the continent’s less privileged countries.
Other aid
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 4th March pledged to make $10 billion available at zero interest to help poor countries, especially in Africa, through their rapid-disbursing emergency financing program.
- The World Health Organization has supplied testing equipment and training throughout the continent while focusing on 13 countries with strong links to China. The countries include Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
- Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has donated over 1 million units of the COVID-19 testing kit to the continent.
Reporting by Kupa Kambasha. Editing by Gaby Ndongo. Feature image by Martin Lopez from Pexels.
