Generic Medicine Makers Can Help Close Africa’s Medicine Access Gaps, Says New Report

The article lays out structural barriers that generic medicine manufacturers continue to face in African markets, as defined in the report. These include fragmented procurement systems, unpredictable demand, differing regulatory requirements and limited access to affordable financing.

Jayasree K Iyer, CEO of the Access to Medicine Foundation is quoted: “Africa is at a critical turning point. For decades, the focus across the continent has been on combating infectious diseases like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. There are dramatic shifts happening. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are surging, and are projected to become the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.”

The article also highlights insights from Dr Mariatou Tala Jallow, Director of the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism at Africa CDC, who spoke about different strategies that can help create better conditions for generic medicine manufacturers to operate in Africa, such as use of pooled procurement and regulatory harmonisation.