Jayasree K. Iyer joins panel at the 2019 Africa Pharma Conference

The 2019 Africa Pharma Conference will discuss the progress, achievements and challenges faced by African governments in developing the pharmaceutical sector, as well as best practices for catalysing local production. It takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 4 and 5 June.

Jayasree K. Iyer, Executive Director of the Access to Medicine Foundation, will take part in a panel discussion titled ‘The next Frontier for Public Health Medicines Market – rethinking priorities for improved access to quality-assured medicines for Universal Access’.

She will be joined by panellists Dr Solomon Nwaka, Executive Director of ANDI; Mr Stavros Nicolaou, Senior Executive of ASPEN; Kwasi Boateng, Director of United States Pharmacopeia Ghana and Mr Emmanuel Mujuru, Chair of the Board, FAPMA. Dr. Skhumbuzo Ngozwana, CEO of Kiara Health will chair the discussion.

With nearly 2 billion people still lacking access to essential medical products and with global pharmaceutical markets becoming less able to respond to the needs of low- and middle-income countries, there is increasing recognition of the importance of developing a high quality pharmaceutical manufacturing base closer to the patients in need. This would, for example, counter the spread of substandard and falsified medicines, which pose a serious threat to the health of patients. This panel discussion will explore this and other key challenges and enablers of local pharmaceutical production.

The conference is organised by AUDA/NEPAD – the development agency of the African Union, and DFS Africa.