"The African Medical Supplies Platform [AMSP] begins today [Tuesday] the pre-ordering program of covid-19 vaccines for all African Union [AU] member states," the organization announced in a statement.
According to the African Union, the platform will be the "only source that will allow quick, transparent and cost-effective access" to the 270 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca that the African Union has managed to reserve for the continent of 1.3 billion people.
Through pre-orders, which can be made from this Tuesday, the platform aims to offer "equitable access" to vaccines to the 55 member states of the pan-African organization, which include Lusophones Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe.
Payments for the orders will be "facilitated" by Afreximbank, which, according to the statement, will provide manufacturers, on behalf of the countries, with "guarantees of up to 2 billion dollars.
"These are historic times. For the first time in history, Africa has guaranteed access to millions of doses of vaccines in the middle of a pandemic like most Western countries," said Strive Masiyiwa, special envoy from the African Union.
"There is still a huge shortage of vaccine doses and that is why this continental collaboration has designed fair distribution along with equitable access to covid-19 vaccines across the continent," he added.
Benedict Oramah, chairman of the board of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), also stressed the importance of a continental approach to vaccine demand.
"By providing early purchase commitment guarantees of up to $2 billion to prospective manufacturers, Afreximbank will ensure that African states can quickly access covid-19 vaccines at competitive prices and in a timely manner, thereby contributing to saving lives and livelihoods," he added.
To support immunization operations, the platform also launched a new category of accessories that will help countries purchase equipment associated with vaccination, such as ultra-low temperature freezers, personal protective equipment, cotton, syringes and needles, among others.
"The biggest challenges in access to covid-19 vaccine in Africa have been the financing of vaccines and the logistics of vaccination on a scale, but we are pleased that this gap is being filled by Afreximbank's funding facility," said CDC Africa Director John Nkengasong.
"The critical decision now is how to start the vaccination so that once it starts, there are no interruptions. This is where AMSP will play a very important role," he added.
AMSP (www.AMSP.africa) is a non-profit initiative launched by the African Union in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
