Following the announcement by the African Union Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa, on 14 January 2021 that the African Union has secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for Africa through its COVID-19 African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP), on behalf of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), today commenced the COVID-19 vaccines pre-order programme for all African Union Member States.

1. AMSP opensCOVID-19 vaccines pre-ordersfor55 African UnionMemberStates
JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA,19 JANUARY2021. Followingthe announcementbythe African
UnionChairperson,PresidentCyril Ramaphosa,on14 January2021 that the AfricanUnionhas
secureda provisional 270millionCOVID-19vaccine dosesforAfricathroughitsCOVID-19African
Vaccine AcquisitionTaskTeam(AVATT),the AfricaMedical SuppliesPlatform(AMSP),onbehalf of
the AfricaCentresforDisease Control andPrevention(Africa CDC),todaycommencedthe COVID-19
vaccinespre-orderprogramme forall AfricanUnionMemberStates.The AfricanExport-ImportBank
(Afreximbank) will facilitatepaymentsbyprovidingadvance procurementcommitmentguarantees
of upto US$2 billiontothe manufacturersonbehalf of the MemberStates.
While AVATThassecureda provisional270 millionCOVID-19vaccinesdosesfromPfizer,Johnson&
JohnsonandAstraZeneca,AMSP – the single-source platformenablingfaster,more transparentand
cost-effectiveaccesstoCOVID-19supplies –has openedtodaypre-orders,offeringanequitable
access to COVID-19vaccinesdosesforthe 55 AfricanUnionMemberStates.
“These are historical times.Forthe firsttime inhistory,Africahassecuredaccesstomillionsof
vaccine dosesinthe middle of apandemicasmost of Westerncountries,”saidAfricanUnionSpecial
EnvoyStrive Masiyiwa.“There isstill ahuge shortage of vaccine dosesandthat iswhythis
continental collaborationhasdesignedafairallocationcoupled withtimelyandequitable accessof
COVID-19vaccinesacross the continent.”
“AfreximbankisproudtoexpanditssupporttoAfricaneconomiesintheirbidtocontainthe
pandemic.Ourvaccine financingfacilitybuildsonthe successof ourPandemicTrade Impact
MitigationFacility(PATIMFA) toopenaccesstoCOVID19 vaccinesto Africanstatesbasedona
whole-of-Africaapproachfavouredbythe AfricanUnion,”saidProf.BenedictOramah,Presidentand
Chairmanof the Boardof Directorsof Afreximbank.“By providingadvance procurement
commitmentguaranteesof uptoUS$2 billiontocandidate vaccine manufacturers,Afreximbankwill
ensure thatAfricanStatesare able torapidlyaccessCOVID-19vaccines,at competitivepricesandin
a timelymannertherebycontributingtosavinglivesandlivelihoods,”he added.
To supportvaccinationoperations,AMSPhasalsolaunchedanew categoryon vaccine accessories
whichwill helpMemberStatestoprocure productssuchas ultra-low temperature freezers,personal
protective equipment,cottonwool rolls,syringesandneedles.
“The biggestchallengestoCOVID-19vaccine accessinAfricahave beenfinancingof the vaccinesand
the logisticsof vaccinatingatscale,butwe are glad thatthisgap is beingfilledbythe Afreximbank
financingfacility.The critical decisionnow ishow togetstartedso that once we start there will be
no disruptions,andthisiswhere AMSPwill playaverybigrole,”saidDr JohnNkengasong,Director
of AfricaCDC.
“From today,AfricanUnionMemberStateswill be able tostart placingonline pre-ordersfortheir
vaccinesallocationthroughthe AfricaMedical SuppliesPlatform,”saidFatoumataBâ,Founderand
Executive Chairof JanngoandManaging Partnerof JanngoCapital.“We are proudto participate in
providingdirectaccesstocutting-edge COVID-19vaccinesthroughoutAfrica;Thisisessentialto
protectour people andreopenoureconomies.”
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AboutAfreximbank

2. The AfricanExport-ImportBank(Afreximbank) isaPan-Africanmultilateral financial institutionwith
the mandate of financingandpromotingintra-andextra-Africantrade.Afreximbankwasestablished
inOctober1993 and ownedbyAfricangovernments,the AfricanDevelopmentBankandother
Africanmultilateral financial institutionsaswell asAfricanandnon-Africanpublicandprivate
investors.The Bankwasestablishedundertwoconstitutivedocuments,anAgreementsignedby
memberstates,whichconfersonthe Bankthe status of an international organization,andaCharter
signedbyall Shareholders,whichgovernsitscorporate structure andoperations.Afreximbank
deploysinnovativestructurestodeliverfinancingsolutionsthatare supportingthe transformationof
the structure of Africa’strade,acceleratingindustrializationandintra-regional trade,thereby
sustainingeconomicexpansioninAfrica.Atthe endof 2019, the Bank’s total assetsandguarantees
stoodat USD$15.5 billionanditsshareholdersfundsamountedtoUS$2.8 billion.Voted“African
Bank of the Year” in2019, the Bank disbursedmore thanUS$38 billionbetween2016 and 2020.
AfreximbankhasratingsassignedbyGCR(international scale)(A-),Moody’s(Baa1) andFitch(BBB-).
The Bank is headquarteredinCairo,Egypt.Formore information,visit:www.afreximbank.com.
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AboutAfricaCDC
AfricaCDC isa specializedtechnical institutionof the AfricanUnionthatstrengthensthe capacity
and capabilityof Africa’spublichealthinstitutionsaswell aspartnershipstodetectandrespond
quicklyandeffectivelytodisease threatsandoutbreaks,basedondata-driveninterventionsand
programmes.Learnmore at: www.africacdc.org
AboutAMSP
The AfricaMedical SuppliesPlatform(AMSP) isanon-profitinitiativelaunchedbythe AfricanUnion
as an immediate,integratedandpractical response tothe Covid-19pandemic.The online platform
was developedunderthe leadershipof the AfricanUnionSpecial Envoy,StriveMasiyiwaand
poweredbyJanngoonbehalf of the AfricanUnion’sAfricaCentresforDisease Control and
Prevention(AfricaCDC) andinpartnershipwithAfricanExport-ImportBank(Afreximbank) and
UnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforAfrica(ECA) withthe supportof leadingAfrican&
international Institutions,Foundations&Corporationsaswell asGovernmentsof China,Canada&
France. For more informationvisitwww.amsp.africa
AboutJanngo
Janngobuilds,growsandinvestsinpan-Africandigitalchampionswithprovenbusinessmodelsand
inclusive socialimpact.Itbuildsdigitalecosystemsinhighgrowthsectorsbyprovidingbusiness
supportand digital platformsallowingSmall andMediumEnterprises(SMEs) toscale andcontribute
to the economicempowermentof youthandwomenthroughjobcreationandcapacitybuilding. For
more informationvisitwww.janngo.africa
AboutAVATT
AfricanVaccine AcquisitionTaskTeam(AVATT) establishedbythe