10 hours ago
Nigerian company to make HIV, malaria test kits after US funding cut
Nigerian manufacturer Codix Bio Ltd plans to make millions of HIV and malaria test kits at its new plant outside Lagos for the local and regional market to help fill gaps in the wake of cutbacks at US donor agency USAID, a company executive says.
The US, the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, has cut funding for foreign assistance, half of which is delivered via USAID.
The US support to Nigeria, which reached $740m (R13.37bn) in 2024 based on USAID data, is focused on preventing malaria and curbing HIV as well as delivering vaccines to local health centres across the country.
It is not yet clear how Nigeria will be affected by the cuts. The Nigerian government has said it will raise funds to continue some of the programmes that donors supported.
Codix Bio general manager Olanrewaju Balaja said the company will roll out kits later this month from its plant in partnership with the South Korean pharmaceutical producer SD Biosensor and support from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The plant has an initial capacity to produce 147-million kits annually, but this can be expanded to over 160-million.
