President Lazarus Chakwera attended the launch of launch of ‘An Accord for Healthier World’, an initiative in which pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, aims to provide all its patented, high quality medicines and vaccines to low-income countries on a not-for-profit basis.
Malawi is one of the pioneering beneficiaries out of the targeted 45 lower-income countries under the initiative.
President Chakwera attended the launch on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
He said yesterday that the accord seeks to close the glaring inequities that exist between many lower-income countries like Malawi and the rest of the world.
Under the deal, Pfizer will provide 23 medicines and vaccines that treat infectious diseases, certain cancers and inflammatory diseases. There is also a provision that when the company produces new medicines and vaccines in the future, these too shall become part of the accord.
Malawi — together with Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda and Ghana — are expected to create benchmark of the effectiveness of the program as it gradually transitions to the remaining countries.
“It is for this reason that my administration will play the rightful role of oversight and logistics to ensure that these medicines and vaccines are timey delivered in all marked-up outlets across communities.
“This accord is the embodiment of what World Economic Forum is all about. We are here not for handouts but to cultivate real partnerships and create synergies that will empower us to achieve with global connections what we cannot in isolation.
“I call upon all stakeholders in the health sector to ready themselves for the roll out of this phenomenal initiative that places human progress ahead of profit,” said Chakwera in a Facebook post.
I hope this Pzifer issue will not let us be used as guinea pigs. I mean are the medicines issued in their own country? It’s a good gesture but some inside investigation is somewhat ideal.