Solution sought to pharmaceutical threat to Africa prosperity

If you weren’t previously aware, know it now then that Africa is home to just 11% of the world’s population yet it carries 25% of the world’s disease burden.

Scary, right?

So, a high-level meeting of policymakers, regulators and industry experts in the field of pharmaceuticals and trade opened in Addis Ababa, Thursday, November 21 to discuss how to salvage the ugly situation with the provision of affordable pharmaceuticals through the African Continental Free Trade Act. 

Addressing the meeting, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, said that 50% of all children who die before the age of 5 in the world are in Africa.

“We can’t build a prosperous Africa if we have such a high mortality rate. The tragedy is that these diseases are treatable and most related deaths could be prevented with timely access to appropriate and affordable medicines and people with lifelong diseases can lead productive lives,” she declared.

The forum’s co-convener, Seychelles Minister of Health, Jean Paul Adam stressed that universal health is the best way to achieve universal wealth and that attaining SDG3 and ensuring healthy lives, wellbeing and nourishment of citizens also contributes to boosting economies.

He reminded the participants that African nations made a promise to seek collective prosperity through the establishment of the AfCFTA, a promise he which demands seeking opportunity with equity and fairness and given that health is a fundamental factor that underpins shared prosperity, African countries should aim to anchor economic growth on universal access to healthcare.

He added that Seychelles and other island nations like it have come together to procure healthcare and it has led to significant savings and he urged other African countries to also do the same for even greater benefits as “Africa must widen the base for pooled procurement and make a difference by moving together.”

Lia Tadesse, Ethiopia’s state minister for health shared the country’s efforts and gains made in improving its health system, which have resulted in plummeting rates of HIV, infectious diseases and maternal mortality due to a combination of political will and commitment and partnerships.

“The fight, however, is far from over; and this procurement pooling initiative is a strong foundation towards improving the Continent’s supply chain management and an uninterrupted supply of pharmaceutical drugs,” she said.

African Union Social Affairs Commissioner shared the regulatory mechanisms initiated under her office to support and govern the pharmaceutical sector, including collaboration with the WHO on the African Center for Disease Control and the African Medicine Agency (AMA), which she explained, “seeks to ensure the coordination and strengthening of continental initiatives to harmonise medical products regulation, provide guidance and technical support to improve access to quality, safe and efficacious medical products and health technologies on the continent.” She hailed the pooling initiative and expressed the AU’s commitment in this regard.

IGAD’s representative Antony Wesonga, discussed harmonization and collaboration on pharmaceutical standards in the region, stressing the need to strengthen local manufacturing and capacity for compliance of standards.

The meeting discussed the role of African businesses in driving the growth in this sector as well as the need for financing instruments to facilitate pooled procurement. These include a strategic fund, levy and social bonds that can link up with financial markets.