Addis Ababa, 04 December 2023 (ECA) - The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) will, on December 5 to 7, 2023, convene a three-day Expert Group Meeting (EGM) of the AfCFTA-Anchored Pharma Initiative’s pooled procurement pillar of essential Sexual, Reproduction, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health (SRMNCH) products, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting will focus on the technical review of a Centralized Pooled Procurement Mechanism (CPPM) and its accompanying Legal Instrument.
This high-level meeting will comprise senior governmental officials and technical experts from 10 pilot Member States - Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Rwanda, Seychelles and Sudan, along with technical experts from ECA, and development partners. The meeting aims to achieve consensus on the pooled procurement framework and its legal instrument. The deliberations and decisions from the EGM will guide the roadmap for establishment of the mechanism and its legal instrument for endorsement and signature at the proposed Ministerial Meeting scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.
Upon the signing of the legal instrument, the CPPM will be put to the test by procuring 1-4 medicines as proof of concept. This initiative holds immense potential to revolutionize pharmaceutical procurement practices across Africa, ensuring access to affordable, quality medicines for all by fostering health commodity security.
The Pharma Initiative’s CPPM aims to consolidate procurement of pilot SRMNCH products in the ten pilot countries.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org