ECA to Conduct High Level Expert Group Meeting on AfCFTA in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa ,December 3/2023(ENA)-The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) will convene a three-day Expert Group Meeting (EGM) of the AfCFTA-Anchored Pharmaceutical Initiative’s (Pharma Initiative) pooled procurement pillar of essential SRMNCH health products, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

According to a prese release issued by ECA, the meeting, which will be held from December 5 to 7, 2023, focus on the technical review of Centralized Pooled Procurement Mechanism (CPPM) and its accompanying Legal Instrument. 

This high-level meeting, comprising of senior governmental officials and technical experts from 10 pilot Member States that includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Rwanda, Seychelles and Sudan along with technical experts from ECA, and development partners aims to achieve consensus on the pooled procurement framework and its legal instrument. 

The deliberations and decisions from the EGM will guide the roadmap for establishment of the mechanism and its legal instrument for endorsement and signature at the proposed Ministerial Meeting scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.

Upon the signing of the legal instrument, the CPPM will be put to the test by procuring 1-4 medicines as proof of concept. 

This initiative holds immense potential to revolutionize pharmaceutical procurement practices across Africa, ensuring access to affordable, quality medicines for all by fostering Health commodity security.

The Pharma Initiative’s CPPM is anticipated to consolidate procurement of pilot SRMNCH products in ten countries namely: Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan.