Development Stakeholders to Scan the Future of Africa's Pharmaceuticals

5 March 2016
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United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa)

Addis Ababa — On the fringe of the African Development Week to take place in Addis Ababa, the Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union Commission and UNAIDS have convened a High-Level Panel on "Financing Africa's Pharmaceutical Industry" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the 3rd of April 2016.

This Side-event which will be hosted by well-known panellists namely, His Excellency Mr. Abderahamane Benkhalfa - Minister for Finance of Algeria, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina - President of the African Development Bank, Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh - Chairman of the ECOBANK Group and Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya - Secretary General of COMESA, will discuss among other topics financing the production of medicines in Africa.

In effect, the continent represents less than 2 per cent of the world's pharmaceutical market while the World Health Organisation estimates that around 50 per cent Africans do not have regular access to essential medicines. Meanwhile, the circulation of poor quality, substandard or counterfeit medicines constitute a great threat to public health. In the same vein, the continent imports 95 per cent of the medicines consumed by its population.

In the light of these challenges, several initiatives have been taken aimed at forging more unity in the production of pharmaceutical products on the African continent, in order to help its people gain absolute access to essential medicines. In this regard, an African Pharmaceutical Summit was held in 2013 Tunis, which brought together about 130 high level experts from all over the world. The Summit highlighted the need to increase public-private partnerships as a means of financing the pharmaceutical sector.

Meanwhile institutions such as the African Development Bank have factored components of the development of the continent's pharmaceuticals in their current business plans

It is the practical translation of plans like these into concrete action as well as ways and means of getting financing for the take-off of Africa's own authentic pharmaceutical industry that participants will aim to bring to the limelight at this event.

Read the original article on UNECA.

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