The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that six African countries — Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia — would be the first on the continent to receive the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines.

The technology transfer project, launched last year, aims to help low- and middle-income countries manufacture mRNA vaccines at scale and according to international standards.

The WHO established its global mRNA technology transfer hub after vaccine hoarding by wealthy countries and companies prioritising sales to governments that could pay the highest price meant low- and middle-income countries were pushed to the back of the queue for Covid-19 vaccines.