Many life-saving drugs cannot be accessed or are unaffordable to a significant proportion of Africa's population, contributing to poor health outcomes and wider health and socioeconomic inequalities that result in millions of deaths and untold suffering across the continent every year. The COVID-19 pandemic, more than any other disease, has exposed this challenge. African countries lack the capacity to manufacture their own pharmaceuticals. The continent produces only 1% of the vaccines it needs, depending heavily on importation from India, China and other countries. Access to essential medicines plays a critical role in fulfilling the UHC goal. Without access to safe, quality and affordable medicines, the UHC dream will not be realised. Medicines also account for a significant proportion of household out-of-pocket health spending, complicating governments efforts to reduce the high out-of-pocket expenditure on health in many African countries. Our research focuses on evaluating medicine procurement and distribution practices, pricing policies, regulatory regimes and prescribing behaviours among health care providers.