Africa’s Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Push Faces a Race Against Rising Medicine Needs

The article summarises the report’s findings, noting that Africa’s drive to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing could help close major gaps in access to essential medicines – but fragmented markets, unpredictable demand and regulatory barriers continue to pose challenges. 

Claudia Martínez, Director of Research at the Access to Medicine Foundation is quoted: “Africa’s healthcare needs are evolving, and manufacturers across the ecosystem will play an important role in determining whether medicine supply evolves alongside them.”

“Our research shows encouraging progress – from growing local manufacturing to the emergence of new partnership models – but also highlights that companies cannot succeed in isolation,” she continued. The article contextualises the report’s findings for Rwanda, noting that the expansion of pharmaceutical manufacturing could strengthen medicine security while creating new opportunities for regional production, technology transfer and skills development. 

While the report highlights progress, this shouldn’t blur the scale of the challenge remaining – the article explains that according to the Foundation’s CEO Jayasree K. Iyer, “The work is not done yet, as the scale of access to medicines in Africa is still far from being realized.”