The Ninth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development concluded on 5 April with a shared conviction that the continent requires resources for health care, education and other issues aimed at improving the lives of African people.
The participants recognized that Africa has made considerable progress towards social outcomes, with poverty levels dropping in the various subregions. However, further structural transformation and capacity reinforcement should be achieved to implement Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals and, in turn, address problems such as migration, youth employment, the empowerment of women and integration.
During a side event to the meetings sponsored by UNAIDS, the African Union Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa, the participants discussed the potential of the pharmaceutical sector in Africa’s socioeconomic transformation.
The African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Fatima Haram Acyl, said that the pharmaceutical industry in Africa accounted for only 2% of the world’s pharmaceutical market and underscored the importance of mobilizing resources to finance a stronger, less dependent and more reliable local pharmaceutical industry in Africa. The participants highlighted the importance of creating an enabling environment for African businesses to access expertise and technology and strengthen the regulations governing markets and the pharmaceutical industry.
The participants agreed with the need to Fast-Track the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa, which will promote the achievement of universal health coverage and will contribute to the economic development of the pharmaceutical and other related industries.
“At the country and regional levels we are beginning to see initiatives that promote manufacturing, including in pharmaceuticals and commodities. We need to believe in ourselves, in our capacities and the capacities of our people.”
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
“Thanks to these initiatives, the pharmaceutical industry in Africa should experience an unprecedented boom in the years ahead.”
Fatima Haram Acyl, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry
“Regional integration must also stimulate integration of local pharmaceutical production and markets if local production, especially with regard to antiretroviral therapy, is to be viable and sustainable. This is good for the investors in the pharmaceutical industry and the necessary market.”
Mull Katende, Permanent Representative of Uganda to the African Union
