Africa CDC and Unitaid Partner to Strengthen Equitable Access to Health Products in Africa

Geneva/Addis Ababa — The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has partnered with Unitaid. This partnership aims to boost the production of essential health products in Africa. It also seeks to improve access to medicines, diagnostics, and medical oxygen across the continent.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the 78th World Health Assembly. It focuses on increasing regional manufacturing as a key part of Africa's health security. Currently, Africa faces significant challenges; it bears 25% of the global disease burden but imports over 95% of active pharmaceutical ingredients and 70% of its medicines. The continent has only 600 health product manufacturing sites for its population of 1.1 billion people.

To address these issues, the partnership will support local manufacturing of essential medical products. This includes diagnostics, therapeutics, and oxygen production. It will also build capacity for priority health products and innovative technologies developed in Africa. Key health priorities include HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, cervical cancer, and sexually transmitted infections.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC, stated that this partnership reflects Africa's goals for self-sufficiency in health product production. He emphasized building a resilient future through African expertise and expanding regional manufacturing capacity.

The agreement will help overcome regulatory and financing challenges that hinder local production. It also aims to enhance pandemic preparedness by developing health tools within Africa. Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid, noted that both organizations share a goal: strengthening African capacity to respond sustainably to diseases.

By increasing regional production, they hope to reduce supply chain risks and ensure faster access to lifesaving products. Their collaboration will follow a shared action plan with regular progress reviews for accountability. Areas of focus include innovation in diagnostics and treatments, improving regulatory pathways for local products, expanding access to medical oxygen, enhancing pandemic response efforts, and advocating for African-led solutions globally.