MedAccess

Drug repurposing could open new pathways to better treatments for mental health. Finding a promising medicine, however, is only the beginning. As Wellcome Trust’s Max Ahmed highlights, advances in AI, clinical trial design and philanthropic funding could help overcome some of the barriers that have historically limited repurposing. But generating evidence is only one part of the challenge. We also need to think early about how effective treatments can become affordable, sustainable and accessible to the people who need them most. This is particularly important in low- and middle-income countries, where around 75% of people living with a mental health condition are unable to access treatment. At MedAccess, we are exploring how market shaping could help improve access to effective and affordable treatments for schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. Our work in collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc., and funded by Wellcome, is helping us identify where opportunities may exist for innovative financing to improve access, taking into account the evidence, local contexts and the realities of health systems. https://lnkd.in/e5ZT3GUw

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s new market shaping roadmap for TB vaccines is a welcome resource. New TB vaccines currently in development could save millions of lives and bring major health and economic gains to low- and middle-income countries. But innovation alone does not deliver access. As Gavi CEO Sania Nishtar rightly says, we need to shape these markets now, before vaccines reach the market. We need to understand and tackle the barriers that could slow introduction and hold back uptake, from demand and supply to pricing, funding and country readiness. We also need new ways to finance access. This will take close coordination. No one organisation can do this alone. Countries, manufacturers, funders, multilaterals and market-shaping partners all have a part to play. We are glad to be partnering with Gavi through the TB Vaccine Accelerator’s Finance & Access Working Group to turn the promise of these vaccines into access for the people who need them most. https://lnkd.in/ey7bew-6 #Tuberculosis #VaccinesWork

Congratulations to the Oxford Precision Psychiatry Lab (OxPPL), GALENOS_Global and all collaborators on this excellent new Lancet paper. Improving access to schizophrenia care in low- and middle-income countries is one of today's biggest health challenges. As this study highlights, throughout the cycle – from R&D to access to approved treatments – patients in Africa face significant barriers to getting the treatment that will improve their lives. This paper is an important resource for policymakers, researchers and market-shaping partners working to improve equitable access to mental health treatments across LMICs. Thank you to Wellcome Trust for their support for this work and to all who joined the roundtable in February for such honest and insightful collaboration. Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/dbKBh2g7

Congratulations to our Board Chair, Professor Helen Rees, on receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) Awards. This prestigious recognition celebrates Helen’s extraordinary contribution to science and public health over more than three decades, and her enduring commitment to blending activism with evidence and innovation to improve health in Africa and beyond. We are proud to celebrate this achievement with Helen and grateful for her leadership of our Board. Watch the video celebrating Helen and her contribution to science in South Africa: https://lnkd.in/eMBxrCw3 #NRFawards2026 Wits RHI

Earlier this year, in partnership with the Oxford Precision Psychiatry Lab (OxPPL), we brought together mental health clinicians, policy experts, researchers and people with lived experience to explore how we can improve access to effective mental health treatments in low-resource settings. Chaired by Professor Andrea Cipriani, the group used GALENOS_Global, a continuously updated global evidence synthesis, to compare the benefits of a range of antipsychotic treatments and re-examine the evidence through country-specific insights from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa. The meeting marked an important milestone in our efforts to improve affordable access to mental health treatments, funded by a grant from Wellcome Trust and carried out in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. To learn more about the meeting and our work to improve access to mental health treatments, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/eRRRNxWC

The August edition of Access Matters is out. This month we're taking a step back to revisit some of the insights and stories we've shared so far this year:   🔷 Leading economists Michael Kremer and Rachel Glennerster join our Market Shapers series 🔷 Africa Practice's Voices of Africa podcast asks how countries can boost locally produced supply of medical oxygen 🔷 We partner with the University of Oxford to identify mental health treatments that could be scaled in low-resource settings 🔷 The dual HIV and syphilis test falls to a record low price of $0.84 🔷 The five priority areas guiding our work in the new era of global health 🔷 Our CEO Michael Anderson CB sets out four opportunities for market shaping in a changing world   Read it all here ⬇️

We’re glad to welcome so many new followers this summer! If you’re new here, we’ve put together a few slides to introduce ourselves, what we do and the impact of our partnerships. We hope they give you more insight into our mission and how we’re working with governments, industry, global health partners and donors to expand access to affordable health products in low- and middle-income countries. Have a question or want to know more? Leave us a comment below. You can also explore our latest Annual Review and Accounts for a closer look at our work: https://lnkd.in/edme2UP8

What needs to be done to strengthen supply of locally produced medical oxygen in Africa? “If we are serious about strengthening health systems across African countries, then we have to be willing to invest in the companies that actually operate in those systems,” said Kaodili Udeh, our Head of Regional Manufacturing, on the Voice of Africa podcast from Africa Practice. Kaodili joined Dr Abdu Mukhtar (National Coordinator, Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Aishat Adeniji (Founder of HealthPort), and Jason Houdek (Better Futures CoLab) for a discussion on strengthening oxygen access across the continent. They discussed how to improve access to capital for small oxygen producers trying to scale, the Government of Nigeria’s action to remove additional costs facing suppliers and how the East Africa Program on Oxygen Access has blended grants, guarantees and technical assistance to increase local production of liquid medical oxygen in Kenya and Tanzania. Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/etjdmmte

What will define the next decade of health ecosystems in emerging markets? As global health funding declines, the future of health systems will depend on how we shape health markets, unlock sustainable financing and build stronger partnerships across the health ecosystem. In September, our CEO, Michael Anderson CB, will join Jacqueline Musau (Axcess Pharmacy), Juliana Opípari (BP - A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo) and Mohammed Tawil (Boehringer Ingelheim) at the Making More Health Together convention in Ingelheim to explore what this future could look like. We’re looking forward to a conversation about how different actors can work together to build health ecosystems that are more resilient, sustainable and equitable, and ultimately expand access to the people who need it most. Registration is still open: https://lnkd.in/dT2hSam8 Can’t join us in person? We’ll share key takeaways and photos from Michael’s panel afterwards. Stay tuned. #MakingMoreHealthTogether #MakeItReal

In 2025, 13.5 million children still received no vaccines in their first year of life. With global immunisation coverage yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, sustained investment in vaccine programmes and manufacturing remains essential: https://lnkd.in/gvyqTdiK That's why we're proud to support Biovac with a $10 million loan to help build an end-to-end vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town. The new facility will strengthen Africa's vaccine manufacturing capacity, producing up to 40 million vaccine vials each year for diseases including cholera, meningitis, pneumococcal disease and polio, while supporting long-term vaccine security across the continent. This investment also demonstrates the value of partnership and innovative finance in tackling complex global health challenges. As our Managing Director of Capital and Credit, Nikhil Kaviraj Chulani, says: "Building the vaccine manufacturing ecosystem in Africa will require long-term collaboration between operators and capital providers. We're looking forward to working with Biovac over the next decade, alongside our financing partners, to strengthen regional manufacturing, improve supply security, and expand access to lifesaving vaccines across Africa." Read more about our loan to Biovac: https://lnkd.in/ePxjda3z #GlobalHealth #VaccinesWork