Rapid Covid-19 testing kits to be provided to 20 African countries
A global partnership between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and test manufacturers Abbott and SD Biosensor will make available innovative Covid-19 tests priced at a maximum of $5 (about R84) for low- and middle-income countries, including South Africa.
The partnership will make available 120 million affordable, quality rapid test kits to increase testing capabilities in up to 20 countries in Africa, starting in October. This multimillion-dollar intervention is currently undergoing final sign-off.
It is expected to bolster efforts by the African Union’s Partnership to Accelerate Covid-19 Testing (Pact) initiative, launched in August to mobilise experts, community workers, supplies and other resources to minimise the impact of the pandemic on the continent by testing, tracing, and treating Covid-19 cases in a timely manner.
The partnership will make available 120 million affordable, quality rapid test kits to increase testing capabilities in up to 20 countries in Africa, starting in October. This multimillion-dollar intervention is currently undergoing final sign-off.
It is expected to bolster efforts by the African Union’s Partnership to Accelerate Covid-19 Testing (Pact) initiative, launched in August to mobilise experts, community workers, supplies and other resources to minimise the impact of the pandemic on the continent by testing, tracing, and treating Covid-19 cases in a timely manner.
