Workshop on Draft Compendium of Good Policy for Pharma Manufacturing in Africa held in Accra

A 2-day workshop on Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa (PMPA) has been held in Accra.

The event organised by the African Union Development Agency, (AUDA-NEPAD) took place at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel from Thursday 24th to Friday 25th November 2022.

It attracted over 20 participants from South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, Ghana, and Namibia including health CSOs and individuals from the pharmaceutical industry across the African Union member states.

The PMPA envisions a competitive, self-reliant, sustainable, and integrated pharma industry that ensures access to a stable and reliable supply of safe, efficacious, quality-assured medical products.

Speaking on the overview of the draft, Dr. Janet Byaruhanga of the AUDA stated that the compendium is aimed at enforcing competitiveness and improving the pharmaceutical sector among the member states.

“Building a competitive industry means that you are able to produce the volumes and quality that can compete with the other qualities and volumes coming from other entities beyond the continent.

"….Other fragmented issues we have is that the various countries that are small for this and presenting us with small markets are not viable enough and wouldn’t attract any investment in the sector, so that’s why we are going to be tapping into the current effort to integrate markets via the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and into the pharmaceutical sector, ” she stated.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency is the implementing arm for the AU’s Agenda 2063 development strategy.

The Agency has the primary objective of transforming Africa. It focuses on:

Incubating high-impact projects that demonstrate proof-of-concept to translate the AU’s continental strategic development frameworks into national development priorities.

Enhancing knowledge sharing among countries, supported by evidence-based feedback on best practices for regional integration Brokering partnerships and resource mobilisation for the implementation of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063.

NEPAD is based in South Africa and is mandated to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of regional and continental priority development programmes and projects, and to push for partnerships, resource mobilisation, and research and knowledge management.

The establishment of AUDA-NEPAD is part of the global reforms geared at improving the Union’s impact and operational efficiency.