The African Union Chairperson, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, has launched the ‘Africa Medical Supplies Platform’ adopted as a single online marketplace to enable the supply of COVID-19 related critical medical equipment in Africa.

The Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) unlocks immediate access to an African and global base of vetted manufacturers and procurement strategic partners and enables African Union Member States to purchase certified medical equipment such as diagnostic kits, PPE and clinical management devices with increased cost-effectiveness & transparency.

The platform serves as a unique interface enabling volume aggregation, quota management, payment facilitation as well as logistics and transportation to ensure equitable and efficient access to critical supplies for African governments.

The online platform was developed under the leadership of African Union Special Envoy, Strive Masiyiwa and powered by Janngo on behalf of the African Union’s Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and in partnership with African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and other leading African & international corporations, institutions and foundations.

Afreximbank will facilitate payments while logistics partners including African national carriers and global freight forwarders will expedite delivery.

A strong emphasis is also placed on showcasing and funding Made in Africa manufacturers of medical equipment with relevant certification.

Afreximbank brought to bear its $3-billion Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA), of which $200 million has been reserved to support food production as well as the manufacture of, and trade in, medical equipment and supplies.

Special Envoy Strive Masiyiwa said “The Africa Medical Supply Platform is just one innovation that African countries have developed, to help mitigate the devastating impact of this pandemic threatening both the health of our people and our national economies. We are already getting requests from other parts of the world to license the AMSP concept,” he said.

“Africa is leading the way with this online solution to ensure all of our governments get access to PPEs and other urgent medical supplies they need, at fair prices.”

Africa CDC is leveraging the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 to aggregate supply and demand for COVID-19-related medical commodities by African Union Member States, providing a list of priority products, overseeing quality assurance, and facilitating distribution of medical resources.

“We commit to providing market intelligence on where the manufacturers are, facilitating pooled procurement when financial resources are made available through this initiative, and distributing these products to respective African destinations,” said Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC.

Musa Suleiman
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