AHF CARE UGANDA CALLS FOR EQUITABLE SUPPLY OF MEDICINES

By Felix Oketcho 

AHF Care Uganda has called for equitable supply of medicines by World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure access by countries facing heath pandemics,

AHF Ugand Coordinator Advocacy and Marketing Activitist Martha Mbabazi in her opening remarks highlighted that together with various CSOs and coalitions they have rolled out a campaign in an effort to amplify voices towards the pandemic agreement set to be signed end of next month to ensure an equitable provision in terms of access to pathogenic medicines, vaccine developments in times of health pandemics in the global South that includes Africa.

“We are raising voices together to ensure that the pathogenic agreement that will be signed in the next months has equity provision in terms of accessing pathogenic medicines for the global south so that these voices reach EU powers with a message to demand for fairness” she said.

AHF Uganda Cares together with partners and community advocates made the appeal ahead of the PABS agreement signing, to create public awareness campaign to advocate for a fair and equitable PABS framework to support regional production of life-saving health products and ensure that countries are not last in line when the next pandemic or public health emergency occurs.

Dr. Augustine Lubanga, National Medical Director, AHF Uganda Cares said that the failure for a equitable agreement, countries in the global south like in Africa face delay in ratification and repeating inequalities seen in past pandemics while undermining efforts to build regional manufacturing capacity and a genuine health sovereignty in low and middle income countries.

He urged the EU decision makers to ensure their concerns integrated in the pandemic agreement including: Equity, Cooperation, registration, meaningful civil society inclusion, blocking equity, and protecting regional production among others.

“Benefits must equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics, treatment, and non exclusive licenses. Without equitable benefit sharing, regional manufacturing and health sovereignty initiatives risk becoming hollow promises. Binding PABS provisions are essential to make them real” he said.

The Senior Advisor RANA Anne Lumbasi said that the benefit sharing spirit of the provisions require building trust, contributing countries commitments, drive collective innovation, and a health security through benefit and support solidarity for pandemic preparedness.

“If not adopted, risks include contributing countries to withhold sample in support of medicine production, global vulnerability, delay in medicine supply and erosion of trust” she said.

Flavia Kyomukama, the Executive Director of NAPHOSANU an HIV patient focused CSO said that with the lack of inclusion and participation will affect community acceptance to vaccines because of being invisible and counted in all decisions to target the community recipients.

The PABS annex governs how samples and genetic data are shared to develop vaccines, diagnostics, treatments and how benefits are equitably returned.

AHF Uganda Cares works in collaborating with the Ministry of Health, RANA, HEPS, Public health experts and civil society organizations among others.

Previous pandemics witnessed include Ebola, Covid-19, Monkey Pox, among others.  

AHF Uganda Cares is a leading NGO and collaborative partner with the Ugandan Ministry of Health, providing free, comprehensive HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and prevention services since 2002. Operating across 32+ districts, it supports over 203,000 clients, offers free testing, distributes millions of condoms, and runs specialized wellness centers, making it one of the largest HIV service providers in the country.