Mubasher: Pfizer has launched 'An Accord for a Healthier World' initiative to offer its medicines and vaccines available in the US or the European Union (EU) to 1.2 billion people across lower-income countries.

On a not-for-profit basis, the initiative aims to close the health inequities between 45 lower-income countries and the rest of the world, according to a recent press release.

The Accord will help all 27 low-income countries and 18 lower-middle-income countries that have moved from low to lower-middle-income classification in the last ten years. 

Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda are the first five countries to join the Accord, under which 23 medicines and vaccines treating infectious diseases, certain cancers, and rare and inflammatory diseases will be provided.

 Pfizer Chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla, said: "As we learned in the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout, supply is only the first step to helping patients. We will work closely with global health leaders to make improvements in diagnosis, education, infrastructure, storage, and more."

The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, commented: "Combined with additional investments in strengthening Africa’s public health systems and pharmaceutical regulators, the Accord is an important step toward sustainable health security for countries at every income level."