BVI diversifies away from FMD vaccines
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday January 31, 2022 06:00
Since its inception 37 years ago, BVI has played an important role as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) regional reference laboratory for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) for Sub Saharan Africa, making BVI as one of the only two such facilities in Africa and part of a Global Network of 12 reference and Collaborating Centres.
Recently appointed BVI managing director, Andrew Madeswi said the Institute is diversifying away from FMD vaccines as part of its portfolio diversification and growth.
“The Institute is seeking to grow both financially and its product offering, we are looking into managing other diseases,” he told Mmegi,
“The outbreak of the COVID-19 specifically demonstrated the necessity for African countries to improve their health security in response to prevalent and devastating diseases.”
Under his term Madeswi seeks to reposition the institute’s business model and collaborate with other regional key players in the industry for expediency.
He will also drive cultural change to support the ambitions of their business direction, drive operational excellence and create a conducive working environment.
“In the past we have had incremental strategies that were not changing the fabric of the institution and during my term, BVI is being directed to transition from its current business approach and reliance on FMD vaccine for survival,” he added.
Madeswi highlighted the need for BVI to broaden its product offering to support the farmers’ efforts, which are now confronted by more animal diseases that need to be managed and controlled for the economic benefit of the country.
He, however, bemoaned that vaccine manufacturing is a costly undertaking that requires continuous addition of stringent quality standard requirements.
“In order to manage this circumstance, the Institute is embarking on production efficiency exercise to optimise the plant and in regards to the stringent quality standards, we will be focusing on capacitating our staff so that we are able to keep up with standard requirements.”
Over the years, through the manufacturing of FMD vaccines, Botswana has successfully controlled the infectious disease, a feat that enabled the country to continuously export beef to the European Union and other markets.
To date BVI has sustained its export trade over decades and currently exports over 90% of vaccines it manufactures. From 2012 to 2016, BVI became the first OIE PPR vaccine bank of Africa on the basis of technical superiority of the vaccine.
During this period, BVI supplied over eight countries in West Africa with over 28 million doses of vaccines. BVI is also the European Commission PPR Vaccine Bank from 2018 to 2022 which is an endorsement of BVI’s product quality, technical expertise and reliable supplier.