Revital Healthcare EPZ Ltd, based in Kilifi, has been awarded a contract to supply medical equipment to Tanzania. Tanzania has placed an order for 11 million Covid-19 vaccine syringes with the manufacturing company. Management has confirmed that the country has ordered 2ml, 5ml, and 10ml vaccine syringes.
This comes as Kenyan-Tanzanian relations have improved since President Samia Suluhu took office. The company, on the other hand, believes that the Kenyan government should do more to support Kenyan businesses.
Kenya purchases only two of the 42 products manufactured by the company, while Tanzania purchases 11 and Uganda purchases 12. The Tanzanian market is now opening up, according to Revital Healthcare sales and market product development director Roneek Vora, following Tanzanian President Suluhu’s state visit to Kenya in early May.
“We have started to get a lot of enquiries from Tanzania for the Covid test kits that we manufacture,” Vora said.
Tanzania began taking anti-virus measures after President Suluhu took office following the death of former President John Magufuli.
While other countries imposed anti-virus protocols such as lockdowns and restrictions on movement, Tanzania went about its business as usual during Magufuli’s reign, with no requirement to wear face masks. Kenyan firms, on the other hand, are eager to enter the Tanzanian market as the country joins the rest of the world in dealing with the pandemic.
“We met this morning with one of my Tanzanian suppliers, who is now interested in placing orders for the Covid test kits, PPEs, surgical face masks, and other kits that we manufacture,” Vora said.
Revital Healthcare EPZ is Africa’s only manufacturer of Covid test kits and one of only 66 manufacturers worldwide to be USFDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) certified. The company has the capacity to produce 80,000 test kits per day. Among other things, the manufacturer makes surgical face masks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). The Covid-19 antigen rapid diagnostic test kits are their most recent product.
Simultaneously, Revital Healthcare flagged off two shipments of two million 1ml conventional vaccine syringes to three European countries–Germany, Switzerland, and Austria–on Wednesday. Revital Healthcare’s products were contracted by KAJ Medical.
“This is the first time in history, not only for the Kenyan government and Kenya in general, but also for Revital, to export vaccine syringes to Europe,” Vora explained. The Kilifi company has also exported the syringes to Uganda, Malawi, Eritrea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last week, the company sent a shipment of syringes to Uganda.
“We were awarded a contract with the Ugandan government to ship 13.5 million 1ml conventional vaccine syringes. Vora stated, “We’ve done two shipments this month.”
So far, approximately four million vaccine syringes have been delivered to Uganda.
“We have done UNICEF, WHO, and CHMP through WHO this month. And all of these syringes are going to the COVAX facility, where they will be transported to various locations around the world,” Vora explained. Revital Healthcare intends to expand its product line by introducing a new line of rapid diagnostic test kits for diseases such as malaria, hepatitis, cancer, and dengue, among others. “We have identified approximately 15 RDT kits for production. “The results of the tests should be available in 15 minutes,” Vora said.
The company hopes to work with the Kenya Airports Authority and other agencies to test passengers entering the country through airports and border crossings. “We don’t want what is going on in India to happen in Kenya. “We need to control our border points,” Vora explained.
