COVID-19: African Union Chair, President Ramaphosa launches the Africa Medical Supplies Platform, Africa’s Unified Continental response to fight the pandemic
The African Union Chairperson, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, today 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.
Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said the whole initiative was important because the increasingly difficult global trade and financing environment would not only limit the potential of African countries to procure essential supplies, but could also limit their ability to scale up their production capacities.
“Our joint initiative with ECA and the African Union, through Africa CDC, is a proactive way to respond to the pandemic more effectively,” he said. “Afreximbank is also engaging its development partners in COVID-19 response efforts to mobilise additional resources and technical assistance.”
ECA is making use of existing platforms, including its AfCFTA-anchored pharmaceutical pilot project, jointly established with the African Union Commission, WHO, and UNAIDS, to improve economically sustainable access to safe medicines through enhanced localized manufacturing, pooled procurement and a continentally harmonised regulatory and quality framework.
“We are engaging private sector stakeholders and governments to adopt policies to urgently bolster the production and supply chain of critical medical and associated resources that Africa needs to respond to COVID-19 in a manner that promotes the economic and social development of the continent,” said Ms Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of ECA.
Afreximbank, ECA and African Union Trade Commission will also jointly advocate for the removal of trade tariffs and other restrictions on medical supplies in Africa in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will support countries to adopt policies to strengthen intra-African trade in COVID-19-related equipment and improve quality control and adherence to regulatory standards.
Other key strategic partners include Virgin (Orbit and Galactic) and Invicta (ESG), a first of its kind-alliance producing FDA-approved ventilators and oxygen helmets in South Africa and Janngo, leveraging its venture building capabilities, technology expertise & cross-border marketplace track-record to build and launch the platform. All major strategic & commercial partners of the initiative can be found on the platform website : www.amsp.africa
Visit the Africa Medical Supplies Platform at: www.amsp.africa
About the Africa Medical Supplies Platform: The Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) is a non-profit initiative launched by the African Union as an immediate, integrated and practical response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 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) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) with the support of leading African & international Institutions, Foundations & Corporations as well as Governments of China, Canada & France.
For more information visit www.amsp.africa
About Africa CDC: Africa CDC is a specialized technical institution of the African Union supporting Member States to strengthen their capacity to prepare for and respond to disease threats and other public health emergencies.
For more information visit www.africacdc.org.
About Afreximbank: The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution with the mandate of financing and promoting intra-and extra-African trade. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that are supporting the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby sustaining economic expansion in Africa. At the end of 2019, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at USD$15.5 billion and its shareholders’ funds amounted to US$2.8 billion. Voted “African Bank of the Year” in 2019, the Bank disbursed more than US$31billion between 2016 and 2019. Afreximbank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A-), Moody’s (Baa1) and Fitch (BBB-). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com.
About ECA: Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1958 as one of the UN’s five regional commissions, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA’s) mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member states, foster intraregional integration and promote international cooperation for Africa’s development. ECA is made up of 54 member states and plays a dual role as a regional arm of the UN and as a key component of the African institutional landscape.
For more information, visit: www.uneca.org.
About Janngo : Janngo builds, grows and invests in pan-African digital champions with proven business models and inclusive social impact. We build digital ecosystems in high growth sectors by providing business support and digital platforms allowing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to scale and contribute to the economic empowerment of youth and women through job creation and capacity building.
For more information, visit: www.janngo.africa
Media Contact:
Africa Medical Supplies Platform:
George Sibotshiwe; george@nubiconafrica.co.za; Tel: +27-71-467-7689
Antonia Gleizes; media@janngo.africa Tel: +336-23-13-71-72
Africa CDC: James Ayodele; ayodelej@africa-union.org; Tel: +252-953-912-454
Afreximbank: Amadou Labba Sall; asall@afreximbank.com; Tel. +20-120-532-0254
ECA: Sophia Denekews; denekews.uneca@un.org; Tel.+251-929-907-766
