By: Celestine Avi and Seth Eyiah
President John Dramani Mahama has called for increased private-sector investment in Africa’s pharmaceutical industry to reduce the continent’s dependence on imported medicines and vaccines. He says building local manufacturing capacity will not only strengthen health security but also create jobs, protect foreign exchange and position Africa as a major pharmaceutical market. The President was at the 8th African Union Mid-Year Summit at Alamein in Egypt.
President Mahama says Africa’s heavy dependence on imported medicines and vaccines is exposing the continent’s health systems to global supply disruptions while draining billions of dollars from African economies.
“Africa imports over 70% of its pharmaceuticals and nearly 99% of its vaccines. Each year, tens of billions of dollars leave African economies to purchase medicines and vaccines from abroad.”
He says the situation also presents a major investment opportunity, particularly with the African Continental Free Trade Area creating access to a single market of 1.4 billion consumers.
“Under the African Continental Free Trade Area, an African manufacturing plant does not serve a single country of 10 or 30 million people. It serves a single unified market of 1.4 billion consumers.”
Beyond strengthening health security, the President says local pharmaceutical production can generate high-value employment opportunities for Africa’s growing youth population and help retain skilled professionals on the continent.
“Local manufacturing generates jobs in research and development, clinical trials, engineering and biotechnology, helping to retain talent and employ our youth.”
President Mahama is therefore urging governments and the private sector to work together to build factories, strengthen supply chains and support innovation as part of efforts to achieve health sovereignty for Africa.
“So let us stop treating health as a line-item expense in our budgets. Let us build factories, integrate supply chains, fund innovators and secure our citizens’ future. Ladies and gentlemen, let us leave El Alamein with a plan to achieve the objective of African health sovereignty.”
For President Mahama, achieving health sovereignty will require a deliberate partnership between governments and the private sector to transform Africa’s pharmaceutical industry from one heavily dependent on imports into a continent capable of producing for its own growing market.
