Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt – 15 June 2026 – The Arab Republic of Egypt has become the first African Union (AU) Member State to formally join the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM), signing the APPM Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the opening ceremony of Africa Health ExCon 2026 in Cairo. The Africa Health ExCon provided a fitting platform for this landmark commitment, which underscores Egypt’s decisive action to advance the continental agenda on health security and sovereignty – anchored in market integration, and sustainable access to essential health products.
Egypt’s accession to the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) marks a significant milestone in the operationalization of the Africa CDC-led initiative; and further reaffirms its commitment to improving access to affordable, quality-assured medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and other essential health products through the continental pooled procurement.
Egypt’s decision to join the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism reflects its steadfast commitment to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and to the vision of Africa CDC for a more resilient, self-reliant, and integrated health sector across the continent. We believe that stronger regional cooperation and pooled procurement are essential to achieving health sovereignty and ensuring sustainable access to quality-assured health products for all Africans.
Egypt remains fully supportive of the APPM and its implementation, and is committed to working alongside Africa CDC, AU Member States, and partners to strengthen supply chain resilience, enhance market integration, and improve access to essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and medical products across Africa said Dr. Hisham Stait, Chairman of UPA, signed the MOU on behalf of the Egyptian government,
“Egypt, being the first African Union Member State to join the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) demonstrates bold leadership and a strong commitment to Africa’s health security and sovereignty agenda. As presented during the opening ceremony of the Health Excon, APPM is the turning point, where we shift the narrative from fragmented procurement to manufacturing sovereignty and health security,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General.
In his keynote address, delivered in the context of the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak, Dr. Kaseya called on seven key commitments to emerge from ExCon:
- Adopt the Cairo Initiative Manufacturing Compact, ensuring that every African data contribution is linked to fair access, post-trial commitments, technology transfer, and African manufacturing pathways.
- Adopt the APPM as the default procurement mechanism for outbreak-critical medical countermeasures (MCMs).
- Establish guaranteed offtake or reserve-capacity agreements for MCMs.
- Give preference to quality-assured African manufacturers in framework contracts.
- Invest in manufacturing lines in Africa for diagnostics, personal protective equipment (PPE), safe and dignified burial (SDB) kits, and clinical-care products.
- Link R&D and trial data to access, benefit-sharing, and technology transfer arrangements.
- Accelerate reliance on the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and advance joint regulatory pathways.
Established by the Assembly of the African Union Heads of State and Government in 2024, the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) is a strategic continental initiative designed to achieve two complementary objectives: improving access to essential health products and creating sustainable demand for African manufacturers.
The signing of the APPM MoU marks an important step in advancing the implementation of this strategic African Union initiative. It provides a pathway for Member States to aggregate their demand and engage with African manufacturers to improve access to affordable, quality-assured health products, and support sustainable markets for African manufacturers. Following this landmark commitment, Africa CDC encourages more Member States to join the APPM and collectively contribute to building stronger health markets, advancing health security, and realizing Africa’s vision of health sovereignty and self-reliance.
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About Africa CDC
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is the public health agency of the African Union. As an autonomous institution, Africa CDC supports AU Member States to strengthen health systems, improve disease surveillance, and enhance emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: http://www.africacdc.org and follow Africa CDC on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube.
About Egypt’s UPA The Egyptian Unified Procurement Authority (UPA) is the national authority responsible for the unified procurement of medical products, strategic supply chain management, and health technology assessment in the Arab Republic of Egypt. UPA works to ensure the availability, accessibility, and sustainability of healthcare products through centralized procurement, strategic planning, and efficient supply chain management, while supporting the development of Egypt’s healthcare sector and advancing regional health cooperation initiatives.
Media Contacts: Africa CDC: Directorate of Communication & Public Information Communications@africacdc.org | KolyS@africacdc.org
