Showcasing the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP): Engaging the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

Context and Rationale for the meeting

The African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) is a joint initiative of the African Union’s African Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Afreximbank and African Union (AU) Special Envoy, Strive Masiyiwa. It is an offshoot of the AfCFTA-anchored Pharmaceutical Initiative, which was originally conceived and launched in November 2019 by ECA in partnership with AUC, IGAD, AUDA-NEPAD, WHO, UNAIDs and other stakeholders. AMSP has been put in place in the context of the challenges and opportunities of COVID-19, with a view of operationalising and fostering the primary objectives of the AfCFTA-anchored Pharmaceutical Initiative of ensuring access to safe and affordable quality medicines in Africa, through pooled procurement and capacitating local production for improved health outcomes. It is a digital platform intended to serve as a consolidated online marketplace to facilitate the provision of COVID-19-related medical products by addressing supply chain issues such as shortages, delays in distributing supplies, accessibility and affordability. The platform was recently launched on 18^th June 2020 by H. E.  Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa in his capacity as current Chair of the African Union.

A number of African governments have already joined and have begun leveraging the AMSP in the ongoing battle against COVID-19. To ensure that the opportunities afforded by this platform are well known and made readily available to all relevant prospective beneficiaries, ECA, alongside, African CDC, Afreximbank and the AU Special Envoy, Strive Masiyiwa, have embarked on a number of outreach and sensitisation efforts directed at African regional institutions, African countries/governments and African people. Regional Economic Communities play a major role in African countries’ development, including in championing concerted responses to developmental threats, such as the multi-dimensional threats posed by COVID-19.

Objectives

It is against this background that the Common Market for Southern and Eastern Africa (COMESA) and ECA, in partnership with Africa CDC, Afreximbank, and the AU Special Envoy, Strive Masiyiwa wish to convene a high level virtual meeting, to showcase the opportunities offered by AMSP, as well as how it is structured. It is hoped that the meeting would provide the necessary insights about the platform that would enable COMESA member States’ Governments, Private Sector operators and other stakeholders to access and leverage the benefits of the platform, particularly in light of the unrelenting spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent and the attendant impacts on both human lives and sources of livelihood.

Participants

COMESA Secretariat Staff, Ministers of Health and Finance of COMESA Member States as well as their regulatory, procurement and standards associations, COMESA Private Sector Operators and other interested Stakeholders.  

• Speakers

-          Representative of the ECA to serve as moderator

-          Welcome Remarks by Chileshe M. Kapwepwe, Secretary General, COMESA Secretariat

-          Brief Remarks by Strive Masiyiwa, AU Special Envoy

-          Remarks by Vera Songwe – UN Under Secretary General and ECA Executive Secretary

-          Remarks by Representative of Africa CDC

-          Presentation of the AMSP by Fatoumata Bâ, Managing Partner, Janngo Capital

-          Response by representatives of COMESA Member States Ministries of Health

-          Response by representatives of COMESA Member States Ministries of Finance

-          Response by Private Sector Representatives

-          Closing remarks by Minister from amongst COMESA Bureau Present

Contact Point

Documents

• Draft Programme