Pharmaceutical industrialisation in Africa
Introduction
The International Pharmaceutical Forum (IPF) is an annual meeting for pharmacists and other health professionals to discuss issues relating to the development of the pharmaceutical sector. The meeting is organised under the aegis of the Inter-Order of Pharmacists of Africa (IOPA), the Intersyndicale of Pharmacists of Africa (ISPHARMA), the Association of National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agencies (AANRP) or the Pharmacy and Medicines Directorates (DPM), and the Association of Central Purchasing Agencies for Essential Medicines (ACAME).
Launched by the African Council of Ministers of Health in Yaoundé in 1999, the first Pharmaceutical Forum was held in Benin in 2000. This year, Togo is hosting the 23ᵉ edition of the FPI, the main theme of which is: ”Universal access to healthcare: challenges, issues and prospects for the pharmaceutical sector”. During this forum scheduled from 3 to 6 July 2024, sub-themes will be addressed including pharmaceutical industrialisation in Africa. This sub-theme is a challenge for developing countries, as it is an essential link in meeting our populations’ needs for medicines and laboratory reagents.
Context and justification
The African continent, with its predominantly young population and low level of economic development, is facing major health challenges, such as priority diseases (malaria, HIV-AIDS and tuberculosis), the management of epidemics such as cholera and Ebola, and, for some years now, COVID 19. In addition to these challenges, there are major development issues such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and universal access to healthcare and healthcare products, particularly medicines.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of certain essential medicines and medical equipment, particularly personal protective equipment such as medical gowns, gloves, masks, face shields and disinfectants, demonstrated the need to develop the pharmaceutical industry. In particular, this pandemic has highlighted the heavy external dependence of African countries on health products, making it all the more urgent to establish a strategy for industrial development and import substitution.
Several regional initiatives have established appropriate regional integration frameworks for coordinating pharmaceutical sector development, including: the regional GMP roadmap framework for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in ECOWAS and the GMP roadmap initiative by the West African Health Organization; the ECOWAS Regional Pharmaceutical Plan (PPRC) 2014-2020 by the regional economic communities; and the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Recognizing that the development of the pharmaceutical industry requires coordinated action on several fronts, ECOWAS and WAHO have made significant progress, for example in establishing common external tariffs for pharmaceutical inputs and finished products, harmonizing drug regulation and strengthening quality control laboratories. Progress has also been made in developing policies and guidelines to take advantage of the flexible elements of the TRIPS Agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), and measures to combat trade in substandard or falsified medicines in the ECOWAS region.
Despite all these efforts, it has to be said that African countries, particularly those south of the Sahara, remain heavily dependent on external production of medicines. With the exception of the Maghreb countries and South Africa, domestic manufacturers in African countries supply only a quarter of the pharmaceutical products consumed by the populations of these countries. The other three quarters are imported, mainly from the countries of the European Union, Asia and America.
On the road to pharmaceutical industrialisation, African countries face enormous difficulties: the high cost of importing the raw materials used to manufacture pharmaceutical products, strengthening research and development, effectively implementing regional directives on industrialisation, improving the business climate, and coordinating and financing the pharmaceutical sector.
Objectives
General objective
To present the state of progress of pharmaceutical industrialisation in Africa with a view to capitalising on it.
Specific objectives
- To explain the reasons behind the low level of raw material processing in Africa
- To capitalise on the results of the various scientific research projects carried out in our countries
- To develop training opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry in our countries
- Discuss network financing for the mechanisation of pharmaceutical production in Africa;
- Share the experiences of advanced countries in pharmaceutical industrialisation.
Methodology
This sub-theme will be addressed in a conference session. The speaker will talk about pharmaceutical industrialisation in Africa, highlighting not only the difficulties and challenges associated with this sub-theme but also his country’s experience. This will be followed by a panel discussion with the moderator. Selected written papers will be presented visually or as posters at the forum venue.
Results
The discussions and exchanges on pharmaceutical industrialisation in Africa held during this forum should make it possible to:
- Raising awareness among professionals and decision-makers of the need to develop the pharmaceutical industry in Africa
- networking the various players in the pharmaceutical industry in Africa in general and sub-Saharan Africa in particular
- Formulating clear recommendations on the ways and means needed to develop the pharmaceutical industry in Africa.
