Pharmaceutical giant Merck committed to a joint $50 million contribution to the pan-African Transform Health Fund, an effort that aims to improve access, affordability, resilience and quality of health care in Africa. 

The announcement was made during the Dec. 13-15 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by President Joe Biden.  

A company representative told NJBIZ that Merck committed $5 million to the fund, which will support areas such as “supply chain, primary care delivery and digital health technology, all focused on reaching underserved people.” 

The fund is a collaborative effort among commercial, government and other donors, led by the AfricInvest investment platform and the Health Finance Coalition, a group of global health funders hosted by Malaria No More. 

Merck noted that another organization that committed to the fund is MCJ Amelior Foundation of Morristown. The organization did not immediately return a request for comment about its participation.

“Since our company’s founding, we have been committed to advancing global health and using the power of science to save and improve lives,” Robert Davis, Merck chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Creative financing models like the Transform Health Fund can be effective tools to help enable greater access to health, and we welcome the opportunity to partner with like-minded organizations focused on strengthening health systems around the world.” 

Merck’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals have earned the Rahway-headquartered company several accolades, including landing on Fortune magazine’s 2022 Change the World List and Investor’s Business Daily’s 100 Best ESG Companies. 

The other organizations that have committed to the pan-African Transform Health Fund are: 

• U.S. International Development Finance Corp. 
• U.S. Agency for International Development 
• Royal Philips 
• FSD Africa Investments 
• Netri Foundation 
• Anesvad Foundation 
• Grand Challenges Canada (with funding from Global Affairs Canada) 
• Chemonics International

All commitments are subject to final due diligence before closing.