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The Access and Delivery Partnership in Africa

Accelerating the introduction and scale-up of health innovations where they are needed most

For over a decade, the Access and Delivery Partnership (ADP) has worked with African countries and communities to unlock the promise of science and innovation and deliver life-saving health technologies to the people who need them most.

Tuberculosis (TB), malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) continue to devastate the health and wellbeing throughout sub-Saharan Africa. New medicines, vaccines and diagnostics are being developed, but too often, they fail to reach those who need them most.

To meet this challenge, ADP is working with countries in Africa, in partnership with the African Union Development Agency and other key regional and sub-regional partners.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) leads ADP, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) and PATH. ADP is funded by the Government of Japan.

Since 2013, UNDP and the Government of Japan have partnered strategically to combat TB, malaria and NTDs through two interconnected initiatives. The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund drives innovation and research for the development of new medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, while ADP focuses on strengthening capacities, institutions and policies for access and delivery of the new health products.

This innovative partnership with the GHIT Fund enables ADP to ‘connect the dots’ across the full value chain of health technology access and delivery – from policy and regulatory frameworks to human and institutional capacity building, to supply chains and last-mile delivery.

Snapshot

Paediatric schistosomiasis
treatment Paediatric schistosomiasis treatment

Arpraziquantel (arPZQ) is being rolled out across 6 pilot countries, potentially benefiting over 5 million at-risk preschool-aged children and laying the groundwork for continent-wide scale-up.

Drug-resistant
tb treatment Drug-resistant tb treatment

Improved capacities for safe and efficient rollout of drug- resistant TB treatment across 24 West and Central African countries which resulted in a two-fold increase in treatment coverage since 2018.

Malaria
vaccines Malaria vaccines

Contributed to the integrated delivery of malaria vaccines and seasonal malaria chemoprevention that is underway in 13 countries, with potential to achieve 92 percent protection over five years for 54 million at-risk preschool-aged children.

Regulatory
harmonization Regulatory harmonization

Strengthened regulatory capacities and harmonization reduced registration timelines, from an average of two years to just seven months, enabling earlier access to quality-assured health products for millions of people.

Health system
preparedness Health system preparedness

47 African countries have been reached through ADP’s integrated approach, leveraging South-South learning to accelerate innovation and improve access to new health technologies.

Driving change. Saving lives.

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No child left behind: A new era for schistosomiasis control in Africa
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Protecting the next generation against malaria
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Driving change in drug-resistant TB care across West and Central Africa
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Expediting regulatory harmonization
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No child left behind: A new era for schistosomiasis control in Africa

Charles Boniface
"Our community relies on fishing, but this disease spreads through water, hindering our productivity. We’ve lost many to schistosomiasis. Availability of a treatment for preschool-aged children would be a huge relief."
— Charles Boniface, father of a young child in Buyagu village in Sengerema, Tanzania
Charles Boniface

Recognizing the urgent need for action, WHO’s NTD Roadmap (2021–2030) outlines an ambitious vision to prevent, control, eliminate or eradicate 20 NTDs by 2030. Schistosomiasis remains one of the most devastating of these NTDs, causing irreversible organ damage, chronic malnutrition and impaired cognitive development, entrenching a cycle of poor health and poverty from the earliest years of life.

Over 30 million preschool-aged children (two to five years old) are at risk of infection in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet this vulnerable population has been historically underserved due to the absence of age-appropriate treatment formulations.

The innovative partnership between ADP and the GHIT Fund addresses this inequity through a comprehensive end-to-end approach that supports the development and introduction of arPZQ, a breakthrough paediatric formulation for schistosomiasis.

ADP contributed to country preparedness for the pilot rollout in six ‘first-wave’ countries,1 particularly in Ghana, Senegal and Tanzania where ADP worked with partners on baseline disease mapping, promoted community engagement, collaborated on national consultations and drove the necessary regulatory and policy approvals. Working with local research institutions and universities, the pilot studies will evaluate the feasibility of different delivery models, assess cost-effectiveness and generate real-world evidence to inform scale-up.

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In January 2025, over 1,000 preschool-aged children in Tanzania’s Itilima, Sengerema and Kigoma districts participated in a baseline parasitological assessment that was led by the National Institute of Medical Research. Accurate measurements of disease prevalence and intensity are crucial for determining treatment needs and planning the rollout of arPZQ. Read more.
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In Tanzania, NTD programme coordinators and community members tested the AI-powered Snail Identification App. Insights from the digital tool are contributing to the development of locally adapted surveillance strategies in the fight against schistosomiasis.

To amplify the impact of arPZQ, ADP is improving schistosomiasis diagnosis and risk management through the integration of female genital schistosomiasis care into broader health programmes, piloting ultrasonography as a point-of-care diagnostic tool, and developing an AI-powered Snail Identification App.

Strengthening these building blocks to access has created a pathway to safeguard cognitive development, educational attainment and future economic potential for over 5 million preschool-aged children across the first- wave countries. As importantly, the evidence generated from these pilots will serve as a blueprint to accelerate the adoption and scale-up of arPZQ across the continent.

Protecting the next generation against malaria

Malaria remains a leading cause of death in sub Saharan Africa, claiming over half a million lives each year, including an estimated 430,000 children under f ive years old in 2023 alone. As countries push toward elimination by 2030, strengthening health systems to accelerate access to innovative tools is critical. 

The recent arrival of WHO-recommended malaria vaccines – RTS,S and R21 – offers a long-awaited opportunity to protect millions of children and an important shift in the fight against malaria in Africa. 

ADP has made significant contributions to the safe and effective introduction and scale-up of these new vaccines. Efforts include the facilitation of joint regulatory review and rapid approval of the RTS,S vaccine across eight countries2 and improved institutional capacity for safety surveillance and risk management planning. 

ADP contributed to the development of an optimal delivery model that integrates malaria vaccines with seasonal malaria chemoprevention programmes in 13 countries.3 This hybrid strategy has the potential to confer up to 92 percent protective efficacy over five years – a significant increase from the approximately 60 percent efficacy of either vaccines or seasonal malaria chemoprevention alone.

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To support the safe introduction of the new malaria vaccines, ADP has facilitated the testing and rollout of mobile applications (MedSafety and VigiMobile) designed to enhance monitoring of adverse events following immunization. 

ADP worked with local research institutions and universities in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania on introducing these applications for enhanced self-monitoring and reporting of adverse events, strengthening overall vaccine safety surveillance systems. 

Through these efforts, ADP is working with countries move from planning to delivery, ensuring that malaria vaccines are introduced effectively, safely and equitably. The evidence that is generated will inform the scale up of future vaccination programmes for the 54 million preschool aged children who currently receive seasonal malaria chemoprevention, potentially averting millions more cases and deaths.

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Driving change in drug-resistant TB care across West and Central Africa

TB is a significant public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023, an estimated 2.6 million people fell ill with TB, causing over 420,000 deaths. More than half of the estimated 62,000 new cases of drug-resistant TB in the region remain undiagnosed and untreated, allowing this more lethal form of the disease to transmit unchecked within communities.

Within this context, ADP has been working with countries on introducing safer, shorter TB treatment regimens and promoting digital solutions that improve access, adherence and outcomes.

In recent years, ADP has collaborated with the West and Central African Regional Networks for TB Control to foster a network of 24 countries4 to facilitate South-South knowledge exchange, introduce national guidelines and strengthen institutional capacities for safer, more efficient and context-specific rollout of new drug-resistant TB treatments. Since 2018, ADP’s support has contributed to a two-fold increase in treatment coverage across these countries.

In Senegal and Burkina Faso, ADP contributed to the introduction of mobile applications (video-observed therapy and 99DOTS) which facilitated easier access to TB treatment by allowing patients to monitor their treatment remotely. This approach has the potential to reduce the catastrophic financial burden associated with over half of TB-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa. The applications also improved patient adherence – a critical factor in preventing drug resistance and onward transmission of TB – while also reducing the burden on health services.

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Expediting regulatory harmonization

ADP has consistently advanced regional regulatory harmonization efforts as an effective means of expediting the path to market for new health technologies, while reducing the burden on scarce human and financial resources of national regulatory authorities. Through long-standing collaborations with the African Union Development Agency, ADP has contributed to the strengthening of the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization initiative which fostered cooperation between governments across the region to build a more efficient, coherent and effective regulatory landscape.

ADP was instrumental in the drafting and domestic adoption of the African Union Model Law on Medical Products Regulation, which provides a comprehensive framework to guide Member States in enhancing regulatory system capacity, aligning national legislation and improving harmonization across borders. ADP also worked with the African Medical Devices Forum, the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum and the Southern African Development Community to strengthen regional and sub-regional platforms for conducting joint regulatory assessments which led to the rapid registration of new medicines and vaccines.

These efforts have resulted in significant reduction in registration timelines of new products, from an average of two years to a median of just seven months, enabling earlier access to quality-assured health products for millions of people. The foundations for the African Medicines Agency have also been strengthened, which further consolidates progress towards harmonizing regulatory standards and establishing a single, predictable African market for health technologies.

Looking forward

The achievements highlighted are a testament to what focused, innovative partnerships and strategic investments can deliver. Yet, these results are set against a landscape of compounding crises. Climate change, economic instability, and shifting geopolitics create multidimensional risks that threaten Africa’s development and strain already overburdened health systems. These complex challenges reinforce the urgent need to build resilient and sustainable health systems capable of delivering life-saving solutions for TB, malaria, and NTDs, while preparing for future pandemics. These results also point to the importance of unleashing the potential of institutions and innovations in Africa.

Emerging health technologies offer a powerful opportunity for transformation. To meet this moment, ADP will deepen its collaboration with the GHIT Fund, the Government of Japan, and a broad range of African institutions and partners. Together, the UNDP-led ADP and partners will continue to implement a comprehensive end-to end approach that tackles systemic barriers across the innovation, access and delivery nexus. This involves strengthening national regulatory and supply chain systems and harnessing the potential of digital and AI innovations to ensure countries and communities in Africa are better prepared to deliver health technologies to their populations.

By investing in these priorities, countries will be able to regain ground against TB, malaria, and NTDs and also accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage, contributing to a healthier, more secure, and resilient future for all.

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