Guyana will partner with Barbados for a massive investment in the creation of the region’s first pharmaceutical industry, Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley announced during a press conference in Bridgetown today.
The deal will also see cooperation from Rwanda, the European Union Commission, the European Union Development Bank and the World Health Organisation.
Already, Rwanda and Ghana have embarked on a similar pharmaceutical deal in Africa.
Describing the creation of a pharmaceutical industry in the region as a game changer, the Barbadian Prime Minister said not only will the industry address the issue of pharmaceutical equity but it will create jobs and set the stage for massive investments from the private sector.
“The Platform for it has started as early as April of this year and the fact that the joint Communique involved the President of the European Union Commission, the President of the European Union investment bank, the President of Rwanda, the President of Guyana, the Director General of the WHO, the head of the Susan Buffet foundation and myself tells you that this is not speculative that this is serious work in action,” the Barbados Prime Minister said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, both Prime Minister Mottley and President Ali have been vocal on the issue of vaccine scarcity in the early stages of the pandemic and how countries were prioritizing vaccines for the richer countries.
They have both spoken at length about the need for the region to have its own pharmaceutical industry, so that it can provide for its people when needed.
“Through cooperation with Rwanda and President Kagame, with the European Union, European Investment Bank, the President of Guyana, because Barbados and Guyana have to do it together, no single country can do it alone,” the Prime Minister said.
Though the move is historic, the Prime Minister said the creation of the industry will be an extremely complex one, but said that it is one that is necessary.
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