<div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;line-height:13.2pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:23pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";color:black"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;background:rgb(217,149,148);line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:23pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";color:black">ACESS TO MEDICINE CAMPAIGN DESK</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;text-align:justify;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><u><span style="font-size:23pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";color:black">THE BIRTH OF AFRICAN PHARMACEUTICAL
TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION </span></u></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;text-align:justify;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><i><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";color:black">African Development Bank unveils the African Pharmaceutical Technology
Foundation at the 2nd International Conference on Public Health in Africa</span></i></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;line-height:normal;background:rgb(248,248,248);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><b><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(25,30,33)">22-Dec-2022</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)"> Reported by Joyce Mulama, Communication and External
Relations Department, African Development Bank, Condensed for PHM by Wilson Damien
Asibu</span><b><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(25,30,33)"></span></b></p><img src="cid:ii_lczury290" alt="image.png" width="452" height="211"><br>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(25,30,33)"></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(25,30,33)"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;line-height:normal;background:rgb(2,95,55);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:white">(L-R) Aissa Toure, African Development Bank's country manager for
Rwanda; Prof. Padmashree Gehl Sampath, Special Adviser to the President on
Pharmaceuticals and Health, African Development Bank; Solomon Quaynor, Vice
President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, African
Development Bank; Dr. Precious Matsoso, Co-chair of the International
Negotiating Body of the WHO on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response;
Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Senior Advisor to the President on
Industrialisation, African Development Bank; Dr. Yvan Butera, Rwanda Minister
of State in the Ministry of Health; Prof. Frederick Abbott, Edward Ball Eminent
Scholar Professor, Florida State University, USA; Nnenna Nwabufo, African
Development Bank's Director General for East Africa; and Dr. Babatunde Omilola
Olumide, Manager, Public Health Security and Nutrition, African Development
Bank.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">The African Development Bank
Group has formally introduced its new initiative that will join hands with the
African Union to boost Africa's capacity to produce drugs, vaccines,
diagnostics, and therapeutics all along the value chain, to help build its
pharmaceutical sector.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">The African Pharmaceutical
Technology Foundation (APTF) was the focus of a forum hosted by the African
Development Bank under the theme: “Technology Access for Pharmaceutical
Manufacturing: The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation.” The event was
part of the 2^nd International Conference on Public Health in
Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, on 14 December.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">According to the African
Development Bank, the continent imports more than 70% of the medicines it needs
at the cost of $14 billion annually. Changing the game to enable African
countries develop their capacity to manufacture pharmaceutical products has
public health, strategic and economic rationales.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)"> “This new initiative comes
as a solution, since most [African] countries still face challenges in
receiving [medicines] on time," Dr. Yvan Butera, Rwandan Minister of State
for Health, commented. The Foundation, hosted by the Government of Rwanda in
Kigali, is expected to commence operations in early 2023.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">In his opening remarks, Mr.
Solomon Quaynor, Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and
Industrialisation at the African Development Bank Group, said Covid-19 had
exposed the gaps in Africa’s health care system.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">“The Covid-19 pandemic has
exposed the fragility of global health systems and the gaps in the production
of critical drugs on the continent.” He added: “The APTF is a ground-breaking
institution that will significantly enhance Africa’s access to technologies
that underpin the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.”</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">Presenting the APTF at the event,
Prof. Padmashree Gehl Sampath, Special Adviser on pharmaceuticals and health
infrastructure to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development
Bank Group, stressed that the Foundation was designed to help African countries
bridge the technology gaps in sustainable domestic manufacturing.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">Prof. Sampath said:
"Pharmaceutical companies in Africa have three specific impediments to
technology access: access to technology and related know-how for production,
mobilization of domestic resources for technological upgrading, and the lack of
possibilities for horizontal and vertical product diversification. Many
technological risks need to be indemnified to build Africa’s pharmaceutical
sector, including shifting away from a product-by-product approach which puts
African companies at risk.”</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">The co-chair of the International
Negotiating Body of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Pandemic Prevention,
Preparedness and Response, Dr. Precious Matsoso, reflected on how important
technology issues are for future pandemic preparation. She said establishing
the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation “would provide the much-needed
support to address technology barriers for equitable access.”</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">Describing the establishment of
the Foundation as “timely,” given the experience of Covid-19, Dr. Richard
Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness
Initiative, stressed that the initiative “will help in saving lives on the
continent”.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">The Foundation, approved by the
African Development Bank’s Board of Directors in June 2022, is expected to
boost Africa’s access to technology for manufacturing the full range of
pharmaceutical products, focusing on building supply chains and expanding
access to building block technologies of various kinds.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">The Foundation will also serve as
a transparent intermediator advancing and brokering the interests of the
African pharmaceutical sector on the global stage, to enhance access to
proprietary technologies, know-how, and related industrial processes, through
licensing and other market-based and non-market mechanisms.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">The WHO, the Coalition on
Epidemic Preparedness, the South Centre, Geneva, and the Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany have expressed keen interest in
working with the Foundation in the coming year.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">Another panelist, Prof. Carlos
Correa, Executive Director of South Centre, Geneva, said it was important for
Africa to have its own framework that will allow its pharmaceutical industry to
develop. He said: “Intellectual property confers monopolies, and these
monopolies give rights to property owners to control the sharing of
technologies. Creating the capacity to facilitate timely technology transfer to
Africa is important.”</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">Panelists stressed the need to
establish partnerships between African pharmaceutical companies and their
counterparts in other continents, such as Europe.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">Brigit Pickel, the Director
General for Africa in the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development, said Covid-19 brought the focus back on how local manufacturing of
crucial health products can be improved. Germany welcomes the setting up of the
APTF and its vital role in addressing the bottlenecks in the technology and the
market development side, she added.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">Prof. Fredrick Abbott, Edward
Ball Eminent Scholar, Florida State University, USA, spoke about how to truly
create a successful pharmaceutical sector: “You need a focus on intellectual
property management in the broad sense of the word…there also needs to be a
focus on promoting joint ventures such as those that have facilitated the
creation of many Covid-19 vaccines.” </span></p>

<div style="border-top:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:none;border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-right:none;padding:1pt 0in;background:rgb(84,141,212)">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;border:none;padding:0in;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Arial,"sans-serif";color:rgb(51,51,51)">PHM Access to Medicine Campaign will be
sharing more on this African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation as we analyze
what it means for Africa and watch closely its discourse and impact on Africa’s
access to medicine and health for all agenda as well as the overall health of
Africans.</span></p>

</div>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial,"sans-serif"">About the
People’s Health Movement</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,"sans-serif";color:rgb(1,120,212)">What is the People’s Health Movement – PHM</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.25in;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><i><span style="font-family:Arial,"sans-serif";color:rgb(58,58,58)">The PHM is a global network bringing together grassroots health
activists, civil society organizations and academic institutions from around
the world, particularly from low and middle income countries (L&MIC). We
currently have a presence in around 70 countries. Guided by the People’s
Charter for Health (PCH), PHM works on various programmes and activities and is
committed to Comprehensive Primary Health Care and addressing the Social,
Environmental and Economic Determinants of Health.</span></i></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.25in;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><i><span style="font-family:Arial,"sans-serif";color:rgb(58,58,58)">The world is facing a global health crisis characterized by
growing inequities within and among nations and millions of preventable deaths,
especially among the poor. These are in large degree due to unfair economic
structures which lock people into poverty and poor health. In 2000, concerned
activists, academics and health workers got together for the first People’s
Health Assembly. </span></i></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><b><i><u><span style="font-family:Arial,"sans-serif";color:rgb(58,58,58);border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in">Vision of PHM:</span></u></i></b><i><span style="font-family:Arial,"sans-serif";color:rgb(58,58,58)"> “Equity,
ecologically-sustainable development and peace are at the heart of our vision
of a better world – a world in which a healthy life for all is a reality; a
world that respects, appreciates and celebrates all life and diversity; a world
that enables the flowering of people’s talents and abilities to enrich each
other; a world in which people’s voices guide the decisions that shape our
lives….”</span></i></p>

<div style="border-top:none;border-right:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0in;margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </p>

</div>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><b><u>For Feedback:</u></b>
Wilson Damien Asibu, PHM Access to Medicine Campaign, <a href="mailto:Email%3Awilasibu@gmail.com">Email:wilasibu@gmail.com</a></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joyce Mulama, Communication and External Relations
Department, African Development Bank, Email: 
<a href="mailto:j.mulama@afdb.org">j.mulama@afdb.org</a></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </p></div>