PAAL was set up in early 2001 with the object of increasing access to health-care in the Anglophone and Francophone countries of Eastern and Central Africa. Health budgets have to compete with other national priorities. Whereas, they have gone up in local monetary terms the numbers in real money terms have actually declined. The promises of health-care spend coming to 15 per cent of national cake remains a dream in all, but, three countries in Africa. Access to health-care is very limited - with over 50 per cent of populations having no access to health-care whatsoever.

With close to 65 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS living in sub-Saharan Africa and all of them being in the most active and economically productive years of their lives, HIV/AIDS will put further pressure on these impoverished economies. All the health sector and economic gains have been eroded in the last decade. According to a report presented to the British Parliamentarians and The Royal African Society on May 20th 2004, ‘The disease depresses sub-Saharan GDP rate by 0.8 percentage points.In the worst hit countries, where more than one-fifth of the adults have HIV, the burden is 2.6 points'.

PAAL started off with offering consultancy services on accelerated access programs to one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and their associates in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Sales and Marketing consultancies along with assistance in regulatory affairs are offered to a number of local and to some international companies.