Scaling up of Locally Developed COVID-19 Antibody Testing Kit in Ethiopia: Consultative Meeting With Stakeholders

AHRI in collaboration with the Fenot Project/ Harvard University on April 23rd 2021 at the Sapphire Addis Hotel, Addis Ababa, held a fruitful consultative workshop with regards to the in-house COVID-19 serology testing kit. The consultative meeting aimed to create awareness amongst pertinent stakeholders as well as to draw in engagements on the scale up and possible partnerships of the locally developed assay.

The first half of the meeting was facilitated by Dr. Mulatu Biru and Prof. Mirkuzie Wolde with the keynote speakers addressing the following;

  • Abebe Genetu (AHRI, Director General)- Presented the welcoming note to the participants as well as a brief summary of AHRI.
  • Tesfaye Gelanew (AHRI)- Introduced the COVID-19 serology testing kit, highlighting how the kit actually works and the results obtained from the sample tests.
  • Asrat Hailu (AAU)- Pin pointed the importance of the locally developed assay to public health.
  • An interactive question and answer session was provided where questions regarding the assay were raised and answered accordingly.
  • Alemseged Abdissa (AHRI, Deputy Director General)- Presented the development process of the in-house assay.

The second half was catalyzed by a panel and plenary discussions which was moderated by Dr.Abebe Genetu and Prof. Tsinuel Girma. The panel discussion included insights from Mr. Abedella Kasso, from EFDA who explained the necessary regulatory framework required for upscaling the assay. Similarly, Mrs. Herani Sahilu (AHRI’s Lawyer) explained the various legal and regulation approach put forth by AHRI with regards to upscaling the in-house assay.

The plenary discussion, saw the; identification of possible actors, scale-up opportunities and challenges, and the roadmap steps that will realize the development of the antibody test kit in large scale.

 

 

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