AFRICA – Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa have been selected to join the new programme to provide oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries.
The selected African countries become the first cohort of the new public-private partnership dubbed the ‘COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium’ where the use of antiviral oral drug treatment for COVID-19 Paxlovid will be piloted.
The Consortium implementing the Paxlovid oral treatment pilot programme include Americares, Duke University, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative with financial support from Open Society Foundations, Conrad N Hilton Foundation and Pfizer.
The project will kick-start programs through a donation by Pfizer of 100,000 courses of Paxlovid for use in high-risk individuals with mild to moderate COVID-19 as well as promote COVID-19 testing to ensure that people are diagnosed in a timely manner before symptoms worsen.
Paxlovid is administered in three tablets (two tablets of nirmatrelvir and one tablet of ritonavir) taken together orally twice daily for five days, for a total of 30 tablets. However, it is not authorized for use for longer than five consecutive days.
The Pfizer drugs will act as a bridge to low-cost generic drugs and the first patients are likely to be administered the antiviral drugs through the programme later this month in a move that will see new life-saving interventions quickly reaching those most in need across the African continent.
COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium’s pilot program will boost the efforts of building and strengthening a resilient healthcare system, quickly find the patients who need treatment and make sure they get needed medicines regardless of their socio-economic status.
In addition, the Consortium will work closely with the ministers of health in the 10 selected countries which grapple with shortage of primary medical commodities to build public capability thus ensuring equitable access to life-saving treatments for patients with coronavirus.
The new antiviral medicine, Paxlovid, has been available in high-income countries since late 2021 but is not yet widely available in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, it is not authorized for use for longer than five consecutive days.
Furthermore , the consortium builds on earlier commitments in May when some of the partners announced intention to increase access to COVID-19 testing and treatments in low- and middle-income countries before later making cheaper generic drugs more available.
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