Expression of Interest (EOI) at the United Nations Secretariat

The United Nations Secretariat is one of the six major organs of the United Nations, with the others being the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the defunct Trusteeship Council, and the International Court of Justice. The secretariat is the UN's executive arm.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Expression of Interest (EOI) for the AfCFTA-Anchored Pharma Initiative’s Local Production Evaluation by the UN Economic Commission for Africa

EOI Number: EOIUNECA19841

Description of Requirements
In line with Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goas (SDGs), the main objective of the Pharma Initiative is to address socio-economic-related challenges facing African member countries relating to access to equitable, safe, and affordable medicines and the creation of fiscal space to the African Governments given the emerging trend of rising government debts. In addition, the Initiative leverages on the ratified AMA and the beginning of trading under the AfCFTA which brings on board a combined market of 1.3 billion people and gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion, across all member states of the Africa Union.

The Pharma Initiative has a three-pronged approach; localized production; pooled procurement and a harmonized regulatory and quality framework focusing on maternal, neonatal and child health care (MNCH) products to address persistent challenges in MNCH burden, unmet needs, and access to reproductive health products across the select region. Further, the Initiative demonstrates the necessity and efficacy of investment in women's health as a key component of inclusive and sustainable economic development.

It is against this background and in line with the objectives stated above that ECA would like to invite manufacturers of MNCH product(s) to realize Africa’s vision leveraging on AfCFTA and AMA to fulfill the unmet needs of pilot member countries by increasing access to affordable and reliable supply of quality assured MNCH medicines.

Objectives of the Project
ECA is facilitating the Pharma Initiative to convene relevant stakeholders across the public and private sector to pilot selected strategies for improving access to maternal and child health essential medicines and commodities across selected geographic areas in Africa and then scale up in other regions across the continent. Given the pivotal role investments in health plays as input in achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth, the Commission hopes to develop a framework of action to advance health outcomes and shape health markets in Africa. ECA proposes to:

• Leverage the AfCFTA in facilitating regional pooled procurement across specific cluster markets with identified interest.
• Facilitate and advocate from the policy angle local pharmaceutical production of selected and identified pharmaceutical drugs and products.
• Ensure quality standards of identified medicines and products for pooled procurement and local production.

It is against this background and in line with the objectives stated above that ECA would like to invite manufacturers of MNCH product(s) to realize Africa’s vision leveraging on AfCFTA and AMA to fulfill the unmet needs of pilot member countries by increasing access to affordable and reliable supply of quality assured MNCH medicines.

EOI Requirements
To apply for the expression of interest, the following documentation must be submitted in English Language:

• A cover letter expressing interest in submitting the product application to ECA Technical Review Panel for evaluation.
• An acceptance letter from WHO pre-qualification program or accepted by a regulatory agency within the ICH member regions or accepted by a regulatory agency within the African harmonization regions (e.g., IGAD, EAC, SADC, ECOWAS etc.) confirming that the submission/ dossier for the product has been accepted for review and stating the approving agency reference number assigned to the specific product included in the EOI.
• An acceptance letter from WHO pre-qualification program or regulatory agency within the ICH member regions or regulatory agency within African harmonization region (e.g., IGAD, EAC, SADC, ECOWAS) confirming that the manufacturing site and production line where the product is manufactured comply with all aspects of current good manufacturing practice (cGMP).
• A completed pre-assessment application questionnaire (Form A) in response to each product with all the annexes stated in the pre-assessment application. To facilitate an assessment, a word format of the pre-assessment template should be included, and documents and their corresponding annex or attachment need to match their content in the pre-assessment questionnaire.

Application Closing Date
25th June, 2022.

Submission of Documents
All documents should be submitted to the email address: eca-pharma-initiative@un.org

Click Here (PDF) for a detailed description of the EOI.