Introduction – Establishment of AMA
Since last year coalition of CSOs have been advocating for health equity and access to vaccines.
The African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty has been signed by the majority of African countries, allowing for improved access to newer, safer medicines in Africa. Despite growing support for AMA, it will need more time, money, and, most importantly, more signatories from Africa’s strong nations to ensure that the new AMA body can meet its purpose of ensuring more fast access to safer, newer, and higher quality medications across the continent.
The new African Medicines Agency Treaty currently has 28 signatories, accounting for more than half of the African Union’s 55 member states. South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia are among the 27 AU member states that have yet to even sign, yet alone ratify, the treaty document, which was first approved by the African Union in 2019.
AU-EU Summit held in Brussel in 17-18 February 2022
Member States represented from Africa Union and European Union agreed on COVID-19 vaccine inequity, with Europe’s opposition to a waiver on vaccine intellectual property rights remaining a sharp point of contention between the continents.
His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta got a briefing where members present committed to supporting the full-fledged African health sovereignty, in order for the continent to respond to future public health emergencies. This will be through the support of a common agenda towards investment in production capacities, manufacturing health products and strengthening of the regulatory framework in Africa.
The meeting agreed to continue high level advocacy with Kenya’s leadership in the realization of the agenda.
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