European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement at the summit in Rome
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement at the summit in Rome

EU to build vaccine-manufacturing hubs in Africa

The European Union (EU) intends to invest 1bn euros ($1.2bn; £859m) to build Covid vaccine-manufacturing hubs in Africa.

It will also donate at least 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to low- and middle-income countries by the end of the year, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said.

She was speaking at a Covid summit in Rome, where one of the leading vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer/BioNTech, announced it would make two billion doses available at cost to poorer countries over the next 18 months.

The meeting in the Italian capital - in part virtual - seeks to co-ordinate global efforts to combat the pandemic.


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