On November 28th, Microhaem Scientifics (MHS), a diagnostic reagent manufacturing plant in Uganda, was inaugurated with the attendance of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, China's Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong, and Wondfo's President Mr. Peng Zhongxiong and Vice President Mr. Xu Wenjie. In response to the Belt and Road Initiative, Wondfo provides a full range of technical support and assistance for the construction of the MHS plant, helping it to establish a quality management system for future review by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The landing of the plant will make Africa less dependent on diagnostic reagent imports. It will provide high-quality and more affordable diagnostic tests for the local people, benefiting more African people and enhancing public health services in Africa.
 

With Wondfo’s Technical Support for Establishment
MHS Becomes the First Fully Automated Diagnostic Manufacturing Plant in Sub Saharan Africa

At the inaugural ceremony, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, cut the ribbon to inaugurate the MHS plant, expressed his appreciation for the establishment of the plant and assured that the Government of Uganda would purchase test kits produced by the MHS plant through the Ministry of Health.
 


"MHS is already a leader in the manufacturing of diagnostic reagents in the country." Jane Ruth Aceng, Uganda's Minister of Health, said that the support from Wondfo and other international partners is fueling the development of the local manufacturing industry. With the full support of Wondfo, the MHS plant has established an automated manufacturing system, making it the first automated manufacturing plant not only in Uganda, but also in sub-Saharan Africa. MHS plant was built in accordance with ISO13485, cGMP and World Health Organization (WHO) standards, and has been certified and licensed for manufacturing by the Ugandan National Drugs Authority (NDA).


During the initial period of operation, MHS plant will start from the production of HIV and malaria test kits with the technical assistance provided by Wondfo. With continuous support from Wondfo, MHS will gradually expand the product portfolio to include other tests and obtain certification from the World Health Organization for products in the future. This will provide strong support for infectious disease prevention and control programs in public health in Uganda and even in East Africa.

Meanwhile, MHS plant under full operation can create more than 1,500 jobs directly and 5,000 jobs indirectly for the local community, which will effectively facilitate stable employment and economic development of the local community.

Help Respond to Public Health Challenges
Reduce Burden and Generate Benefit

Jane Ruth Aceng, Uganda's Minister of Health, pointed out that Uganda has for many years faced the challenge of unsustainable imports of needed diagnostic products and medicines for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, trypanosomiasis, Ebola, etc., and that localized manufacturing is the only solution. In this regard, she is very pleased with the inauguration of the MHS plant, which reflects the increased local manufacturing capacity.
 

It is known that Uganda's annual demand for medical diagnostic products for the health sector alone is as high as 200 million dollars, and there is still a gap of 83 million dollars despite the support from development partners and the government, among which the procurement of HIV and malaria test kits alone costs more than 20 million dollars. Once MHS plant is put into operation, it will save Uganda more than 100 million dollars in the importation of test kits every year.
 

Jane Ruth Aceng noted that “…Uganda is at the heart of 8 East African countries including Somalia with a combined population of more than 300 million people. We also have market access to over 1.4 billion people of the African Continent through the African Continental Free Trade Area.”

Devoted to African Market for 10+ Years
Products and Services are Widely Applied and Recognized

Since 2012, Wondfo's products and solutions have been applied in more than 40 African countries, including Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Wondfo's testing kits for infectious diseases have been widely used in African countries and have been well received. Both HIV tests for professional use and for self-test have obtained WHO PQ certification, and are serving various countries in Africa through public procurement.
 

Wondfo started the international business since 2002, continuously supporting the facilitation of global health with science and technology. In this way, we bring China's intellectual manufacturing and Chinese brands to the world, contribute China's power to the construction of a human health community, and endeavor to make biology technology benefit the public!