African leaders urge acceleration of regional drug production to reduce reliance on imports

African countries have been urged to accelerate regional pharmaceutical manufacturing as the continent moves to reduce its heavy dependence on imported medicines and vaccines, with experts warning that fragmented markets and regulatory barriers continue to undermine health security. Speaking during the IGAD Community of Practice for Local Manufacturing meeting, health leaders said Africa still imports about 80 per cent of its medicines and 99 per cent of its vaccines, leaving millions vulnerable during global health emergencies. They called for countries to pool regional markets, harmonise regulations and increase investment to achieve the African Union's target of producing 60 per cent of the continent's health products locally by 2040. Chair of the Community of Practice for Local Manufacturing Dr Stephen Njuguna said individual countries would struggle to sustain pharmaceutical industries on their own because manufacturing requires substantial investment and dependable markets. He said a regional approach would enable African countries to combine demand, lower production costs and develop industries capable of competing globally. Head of the Health Unit at the IGAD Secretariat, Dr Mohammed Elduma, said the COVID-19 pandemic and previous disease outbreaks exposed Africa's vulnerability after global supply chains were disrupted. He said manufacturers should be able to supply medicines across the region instead of being confined to domestic markets, adding that closer collaboration between governments, regulators and the private sector would help remove long-standing obstacles to local production. World Bank health specialist Dr Ramesh Govindaraj said strengthening regulatory systems, improving access to financing and aligning health, trade and industrial policies would be essential to building confidence in medicines produced on the continent. He added that expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing would also require stronger expertise in technology transfer, innovation and intellectual property. Director of the EAC Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunisation and Health Supply Chain Management, Dr Mwesigye John Patrick, said Africa spends more than $28 billion each year importing medicines, creating a sizable market that local manufacturers could supply. He said the East African Community is reviewing its regional pharmaceutical manufacturing strategy and considering pooled procurement systems to provide producers with predictable demand and improve access to financing. African Pharmaceutical Value Chain expert Wilson Chandomba said the continent already possesses decades of pharmaceutical manufacturing experience and should adopt a Pan-African approach rather than relying on fragmented national markets. He urged governments to strengthen the entire pharmaceutical value chain, including local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, while prioritising affordable medicines that prevent diseases affecting large populations. Participants agreed that although Africa has the expertise and emerging technologies needed to expand pharmaceutical production, governments must now translate policy commitments into investment, harmonised regulations and functioning manufacturing facilities. They said achieving the African Union's ambition of producing 60 per cent of Africa's medicines and vaccines locally by 2040 will depend on building an integrated pharmaceutical market capable of supplying patients across the continent.