The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, plans to engage financial institutions to help spur medical manufacturing in Africa as part of the initiative’s new strategy, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Dr. John Nkengasong told Devex.
Involving development finance and commercial banks will help improve access to cheaper drugs, diversify the supply of pharmaceutical goods, and spark medical innovation on the continent, according to PEPFAR’s new five-year strategy released on Dec. 1.
The goal is to boost regional manufacturing in global south countries — especially across Africa — so they can produce more medical products locally and lessen their reliance on foreign imports.