By:
Nana Appiah Acquaye
The
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has handed over
medical equipment valued at more than US$7.8 million to Egypt, aimed at
strengthening vaccine delivery systems, cold chain capacity, and health data
management across the country.
The
handover took place during a bilateral engagement between the Director General
of Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya, and Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population,
Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, on the margins of Africa Health ExCon 2026, which is
scheduled to begin in Cairo.
The
engagement also served as an opportunity to review ongoing continental health
cooperation initiatives, including Egypt’s role in advancing Africa’s health
security agenda and its leadership in regional health governance structures.
The
equipment was procured by UNICEF under the Saving Lives and Livelihoods (SLL)
Initiative, funded by the Mastercard Foundation and coordinated by Africa CDC.
It includes 41 vehicles, 100 refrigerators, as well as desktop computers,
laptops, tablets, and printers.
According
to Africa CDC, the support is intended to enhance last-mile vaccine delivery,
expand cold chain infrastructure, and improve data management systems critical
for effective immunisation programmes and broader public health interventions.
Both
parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collaboration on
continental health priorities, including the operationalisation of the African
Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM), which aims to improve access to essential
health commodities across African countries.
The
initiative forms part of broader efforts to reinforce health systems resilience
and ensure more efficient delivery of healthcare services across the continent.
