Medicines for Africa

15/09/2025

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31/05/2024

Profil du candidat Dr Soce Fall. Candidat au poste de Directeur régional de l'OMS pour l'Afrique, candidature présentée par la République du Sénégal et endossée par l'Union africaine.
Bureau régional de l'OMS pour l'Afrique - AFRO



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09/02/2024

Behind the scene on Utano Podcast. Medicines for Africa had the pleasure of welcoming Dr Philippe NEAU, PhD, back on Utano after he came on a year to say that we are making great progress on the path to eliminating sleeping sickness, but we need not be complacent because this will take us back. It was a great pleasure to have Philip back on the podcast to share the progress they have made at Sanofi with a product that treats a version of sleeping sickness that affects people mostly in Southern Africa.

The product a 10 day oral treatment which replace the only treatment option that was available which was not only painful because it involves a lumbar puncture, it is also very toxic and it kills 5% of patients who receive it. The requirement of a hospital setting along was a massive access barrier because the illness affects people in rural communities who live far from hospital facilities. This new treatment offers great hope to patients affected by sleeping sickness in southern Africa. We will be bringing your the full conversation soon.

We recorded our first podcast in French with KOSSIVI Christ who also spoke to Philipp to inform our French audience about the great new product. Here is sneak peak behind the scenes in the Utano studio.

09/02/2024

A new study publiched in The Lancet Global showed that an estimated 1.05 million deaths in Africa are associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This means that AMR was a bigger cause of death than HIV/AIDS and malaria in 2019. The same year 639,554 people died of HIV in Africa and 594,348 died from malaria. Does that require a change in the way we fund these issues? Share your thoughts with us.

Scientists have attributed thousands of deaths in Kenya to antimicrobial resistance

09/02/2024

Some countries like Ghana put in place a levy for Cvoid-19 pandemic and now they have to decide whether to stop it or not. Economists in Ghana are advising the government to keep this levy channel it towards other health issues. At Medicines for Africa we believe that that would be good use of this resource to expand access to healthcare in Ghana.

The government must keep the Covid-19 levy that was introduced as part of the fight against the virus, a senior lecturer at the Economics Department of the University of Ghana, Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie, has said. He suggested that the government channels the funds generated from the Covid levy to healt...

09/02/2024

Medical negligence claims of close to R900 million were paid out in only one province of South Africa in a recent financial year. According to Health Minister Joe Phaahla, that would have been enough to employ the country’s 694 unemployed doctors. Although Phaahla didn’t name the province, a 2023 report from the auditor general shows that in 2021, the Eastern Cape paid out almost R867 million in claims, while the salary bill for 694 newly qualified doctors (in 2023) would have been about R838 million.

South Africa has close to 700 medical doctors who haven’t been able to find a job in the public sector since qualifying

09/02/2024

A major challenge facing Nigeria is the inadequate cancer treatment equipment in Nigeria, especially in the Northwest region, lacking any radiotherapy machines. ”In a statement issued by the Founder of the Foundation, Hassana Muhammad Yakubu, they stated that the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment disclosed that Nigeria recorded over 120,000 new cases of cancer annually. In 2020, an estimated 78,000 Nigerians succumbed to cancer-related complications, with 44,699 females and 34,200 males affected. These alarming statistics highlight the urgent need for action.”

‘Hassy’s Haven Foundation is committed to disrupting the impact of cancer in Nigeria. We aim to raise awareness, advocate for improved access to treatment and research, and provide support to affected individuals, particularly girls, orphans, widows, and the less privileged.”

The Hassy's Haven Foundation has observed that cancer has become a significant health concern in Nigeria, affecting 28% of the population directly or through their family members.

09/02/2024

President of the Federation of Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industry Associations, FeNPIA, Dr. Okey Akpa, PhD has said that based on extant fiscal Policy, raw materials for pharmaceutical products should be VAT–free. Akpa posited that this should be sustained as against the recent push by the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, to introduce VAT to some Pharmaceutical raw materials and even some Finished Pharmaceutical Products. According to him, the high tariff on some pharmaceutical manufacturing inputs needs to be urgently reviewed downwards as this will help further reduce the cost of drugs.
He called for a coordinated and strategic procurement process which could be by way of pooled procurement or public–private partnership in the medicine supply chain, as is being practised currently between some states and members of the pharmaceutical Industry. Medicines for Africa | mfa calls on African governments to support the local industry by making sure that they can be competitive on the market.

President of the Federation of Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industry Associations, FeNPIA, Dr. Okey Akpa has said that based on extant fiscal Policy, raw materials for pharmaceutical products should be VAT–free

08/02/2024

To stem the skyrocketing cost of essential medicines in the interim, pharmaceutical industry players yesterday demanded special priority to access FOREX at rates that will moderate the final cost of medicines and other strategic healthcare commodities of critical need in the country. They also urged the Federal government to create a N600 billion Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Development Fund at 5 per cent interest, over a minimum of seven to 10-year tenure to support the local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, APIs, vaccines, critical supply chain interventions and Research & Development (R&D), among others.

To stem the skyrocketing cost, pharmaceutical industry players yesterday demanded special priority to access FOREX

08/02/2024

Worried by the high number of cancer cases and fatalities in Nigeria, a cancer specialist, Dr Abia Nzelu, is seeking major investments of resources to facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive cancer centre in Nigeria. n a statement entitled “How Can We Close the Care Gap in Nigeria?” to mark World Cancer Day 2024, Nzelu said 2024 marks the final year of the World Cancer Day campaign ‘Close the Care Gap’,and that the heaviest cancer burden is on developing countries like Nigeria, where more than 6 percent of the world’s total new annual cases and over 70 percent of cancer deaths occur, yet only 5 percent of global spending in cancer care takes place in these countries.

Worried by the high number of cancer cases and fatalities in Nigeria, a cancer specialist, Dr Abia Nzelu, is seeking major investments of resources to facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive cancer centre in Nigeria.

08/02/2024

is on the cusp of a transformative era in healthcare with the ongoing implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). The Social Health Authority (SHA) is poised to replace the decades-old National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), which has been marred by corruption scandals leading to the loss of billions in taxpayer-contributed funds. One pivotal aspect of the SHA is its commitment to a secure digital information system. This system promises to revolutionise the tracking of supply chain processes, putting an end to the scandals that have plagued health commodities and procurement in the past.

Kenya is on the cusp of a transformative era in healthcare with the ongoing implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).

08/02/2024

Zimbabwe successfully applied for oral cholera vaccines and the country was awarded 2.3 million doses from what was requested.

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Uptake of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) has reached 90 percent in the districts where vaccines were deployed the onset of the campaign