News & Events

In the past year, our #Commonwealth family has seen incredible growth and innovation across industries. From Jamaica’s new tech hub to Rwanda’s booming manufacturing sector – countries are thriving! 🚀

Join us as we recap positive news from 12 countries representing each month of 2023. Discover the diverse achievements across our network and how we continue to support one another. 🤝

The future looks bright in 2024 and beyond! Stay connected with the #Commonwealth world by following our social channels. Let’s continue to collaborate, innovate and make progress together!

The Christmas season begins in late November or early December with the start of Advent, a period of preparation for Christmas Day. Traditions like decorating Christmas trees, singing carols, attending church services, and waiting for Santa Claus are hallmarks of the Christmas season. On Christmas Eve, children eagerly wait to spot Santa and his reindeer delivering presents. Christmas Day starts with families opening gifts and enjoying festive meals together.

Many of the customs and decorations of Christmas, like mistletoe, holly, and yule logs originated from pre-Christian winter solstice celebrations. When Christianity spread, the Church gave new symbolism and meaning to these old traditions. The giving of gifts may recall the gifts of the Magi to the Christ child. Christmas carols, nativity scenes, and church services help recount and celebrate the story of Christ’s birth.

In 2022, BioNTech laid out a plan to enable African countries to produce its Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine under the company’s supervision. The goal is to promote vaccine equity and self-reliance for the region. Currently, Africa relies on imports for 99% of its vaccine needs according to the World Health Organization.

The Kigali facility will have an initial capacity to produce 50 million doses of the mRNA vaccine per year. However, it can be scaled up over time to produce several hundred million doses as needed. The modular design allows capacity to be expanded. Local staff will be trained to operate the facility to ensure knowledge transfer. The goal is for the Kigali site to eventually manufacture a portfolio of mRNA-based vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases relevant to the region.

Rwanda was chosen as the location thanks to its relative political stability and support from government leadership. BioNTech’s goal is to spread manufacturing capacity worldwide to improve global access to vaccines when future pandemics arise.

Read the original article here: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/biontech-aims-to-start-mrna-vaccine-output-in-rwanda-in-2025/ar-AA1lJJUH