Generic Drugmakers See Opening to Close Africa’s Medicine Access Gaps

Africa’s healthcare landscape is becoming more complex as demand for medicines for communicable and non-communicable diseases rise across the continent.

“Manufacturers across the ecosystem will play an important role in determining whether medicine supply evolves alongside” changing healthcare needs, the article quotes Claudia Martínez, Director of Research at the Access to Medicine Foundation.

The article points out the opportunities that the current market conditions create for the industry but also notes limits of what companies can achieve on their own, as detailed in the report. Unpredictable demand, fragmented markets and complex manufacturing requirements all create challenges for manufacturers to respond to the need to address gaps in access to medicine.

The article also notes that true progress will require action not only from drugmakers but also from governments, regulators, procurement agencies, development finance institutions and global health organisations.