Kilifi Medical Manufacturing Firm Receives 590 Million from Gates Foundation

By Ronald Ngoba

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

A Kilifi-based Medical Devices Manufacturing firm has received Ksh590 million (US $4 million) as grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at Kikambala of Kilifi County.

Revital Healthcare EPZ Ltd International Business Development and Patent Developes director Harsh Melta said the funds were targeting to expand the supply of over 300million units of both the 2Ml two-part and 2ML three-part auto-disable syringes annually.

Melta, addressing journalist after taking them round the firm, said the move would help countries deliver more routine immunization so as to recover the progress that was lost during the Covid-19 pandemic apart from stabilizing immunization syringe supply in the longer-term.

According to him the firm achieved the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification and it was anticipated that the syringes would go to countries for use in immunization activities.

“This is a critical step going forward as Revital is currently the only WHO- prequalified manufacturer for the vaccine syringes in Africa that is contracted by United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF).”

Melta said that the company had already employed about 650 workers out of whom 80 per cent were women and person with disabilities.

“There main reason we have absorbed more women in our firm is that we want to empower them economically and change their livelihood.”

Revital Healthcare Sales, Marketing and product development director Roneek Vora said the firm was in the final stages of establishing a new manufacturing healthcare line that would enable produce more products.

He added that the firm would had the capacity to produce 18 million kits per month which would be close to 1 billion kits annually.

The Company started its operation in 2008 with just one product but has now expanded to about 45 with over 500 stock keeping units.

It was inaugurated by the late president Mwai Kibaki in 2008.

Revital Healthcare is Africa’s only World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified manufacturer for Auto-Disable vaccine syringes.

Vora also said over $2.3 million was set to expand a rapid diagnosis test kit manufacturing to at least 240 million rapid test kit annually.

“This will revamp the Company to become the largest manufacturer of the rapid kits in the continent by serving almost a quarter of the Sub-saharan Africa population,” he said.