Foundation Urges Action To Strengthen Africa’s Pharmaceutical Industry

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has called on African governments to accelerate efforts to strengthen the continent’s pharmaceutical industry, warning that dependence on imported medicines and fragmented regulatory systems could undermine access to affordable drugs.

The foundation in a statement urged countries yet to ratify the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty to do so, saying a harmonised regulatory framework would support local pharmaceutical production and improve access to safe and quality-assured medicines.

AHF Executive Vice President, Penninah Iutung, said Africa’s dependence on imported medicines exposed its health systems to disruptions in global supply chains.

“Africa cannot achieve health sovereignty while remaining heavily dependent on imported medicines and vulnerable to disruptions in global supply chains,” Iutung said.

The call comes as the AMA holds its inaugural week in Kigali, Rwanda, from October 25 to 30, with discussions focusing on medicines regulation across the continent.

Africa’s pharmaceutical market is estimated at $30 billion, but between 70 and 95 per cent of medicines consumed on the continent are imported. Presentations at the event also put Africa’s pharmaceutical trade deficit at about $12.5 billion in 2020.

Figures presented during the AMA Week showed that 33 African Union member states had ratified the treaty as of October 2026, leaving more than 20 countries yet to complete the process.

Discussions at the AMA Week also highlighted challenges facing pharmaceutical manufacturers across Africa.

According to figures presented at the event, 80 per cent of local manufacturers surveyed identified unpredictable regulatory review and approval timelines as a major challenge, while 77 per cent cited differences in regulatory requirements among African countries.

Another 54 per cent identified duplicated submissions, assessments and inspections as constraints to their operations.

The regulatory challenges were identified as factors that could increase production costs, delay access to medicines and discourage investment in local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The Executive Director of the Global Public Health Institute, Dr Jorge Saavedra, said the establishment of the AMA was important to strengthening Africa’s capacity to protect public health.

He said regulatory harmonisation should be accompanied by technology transfer, research and development, and stronger African scientific institutions.