AFRICAN Union special envoy Strive Masiyiwa has – through the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) – sourced drugs to treat one million African’s affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
HealthTimes Reporter
The AMSP was launched in June by African Union chairperson and South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa and the platform has gained traction in sourcing of supplies of medical equipment, struck new groundbreaking partnerships globally, and has experienced a surge in demand for medical supplies from the continental body’s member states.
At the launch, Ramaphosa directed the platform team to add promising pharmaceutical products that might be helpful to our doctors, working in close collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
I’m pleased to advise you that at our request, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed to joining our initiative to secure a drug to treat Covid-19 called dexamethasone, which is being used in hospitals in the US, and Europe on very sick patients following the results of the Recovery Trial,” Masiyiwa said in response to Ramaphosa’s request.
“The trial demonstrated significant reduction of mortality, saving lives that we couldn’t save without this intervention. About one million people will benefit from the drug (equivalent to 9M tablets), which will be distributed proportionately for free to all countries that are interested in its use,” he added.
Cheikh Oumar Seydi, the Gates Foundation Africa director, said his organisation gladly supports the Africa Medical Supplies Platform’s initiative to bring Covid-19 treatments to African people.
“We have a shared belief that access to lifesaving tools should not be dependent on ability to pay.”
In addition, the Africa CDC has further secured US$15 million from the MasterCard Foundation, which has been used to buy PCR Test Kits through the platform.
“These tests will support our Partnership to Accelerate Covid-19 the testing initiative that was launched a few weeks ago,” Africa CDC executive director John NKekasong said.
The donations of both dexamethasone and test kits will be distributed for free to AU member states once they register on the AMSP platform, so as to confirm their allocation and arrange delivery.
Meanwhile, Masiyiwa said in addition to securing the best drugs on the platform, AMSP was “preparing to become a critical player in how oxygen supplies, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines are accessible on the continent when it is globally available”.
The Econet founder and philanthropist also told Ramaphosa that the UNICEF catalogue was now listed and purchasable on the platform, while the applications from vendors of medical suppliers have increased threefold from the time of launch.
“Mr President, l am pleased to report that the platform has proved popular with suppliers and is receiving applications from an average of 40 new vendors per day,” he said, adding that demand for medical supplies on the platform was high and included member states of the African Union, leading international non-governmental organizations as well as International and African Foundations.
“We are also zeroing in on ensuring that we expand access of our platform to hospitals and local authorities approved by governments of member states. We believe this will ensure critical supplies are available at the hospital level in a speedy and timely fashion,” Masiyiwa said.
He concluded the briefing by advising the Chairperson of the African Union that under his leadership, the platform had achieved international recognition, with member states of the Caribbean Community and Common Market joining the platform to access critical medical supplies to fight Covid-19.
