By Abdullahi Lukman
The Gates Foundation has awarded a $5 million grant to Axmed, a healthcare technology company, aimed at improving access to affordable, high-quality medicines in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This grant, announced during the 78th World Health Assembly, will match government procurement of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) commodities through the Axmed Medicines Platform, unlocking up to $10 million in procurement funding.
The initiative seeks to strengthen national procurement systems by offering Ministries of Health immediate liquidity, access to quality-assured commodities, and the benefits of pooled procurement.
This is expected to drive cost-efficiency and enhance supply security in the region, benefiting vulnerable populations.
Cynthia Mwase, Director of Health, Africa at the Gates Foundation, emphasized the importance of the grant in reducing preventable deaths among mothers and babies.
“This partnership with Axmed is an important step forward in ensuring that life-saving innovations reach the communities where they can make the greatest difference,” Mwase said.
The grant will address persistent gaps in medicine access, particularly in low-resource settings where weak procurement systems and constrained budgets continue to hinder the availability of essential MNCH commodities.
Despite the existence of proven, cost-effective interventions, 287,000 women die annually from pregnancy-related complications, and 2.3 million newborns die in their first month.
This partnership with Axmed builds on previous successes in Rwanda, where the company’s platform has already demonstrated significant improvements in the efficient delivery of medicines.
“Through this matching fund, we will expand this impact, reaching the most vulnerable with urgency and precision,” said Dr. Loko Abraham, CEO of Rwanda Medical Supply.
Axmed’s digital platform aggregates demand across countries and consolidates procurement, enabling significant cost savings.
In 2024, average savings of 20–30 percent were achieved, with some MNCH products realizing up to 80% cost reductions.
The platform also partners with global logistics providers to ensure end-to-end delivery with full tracking and traceability.
Emmanuel Akpakwu, Founder & CEO of Axmed, highlighted the impact of combining catalytic financing with technology to create more resilient procurement systems for the future.
“Our goal is not just to deliver quality medicines faster and more affordably but to help build more resilient and efficient procurement systems for the future,” Akpakwu said.
