Mahama unveils H-Enabler platform to boost health investment and manufacturing in Africa

President John Dramani Mahama has introduced a new continental platform designed to make it easier for health innovators and investors to navigate regulation, clinical validation and commercialisation across Africa.

Known as the Health Investment and National Gateway (H-Enabler), the platform was announced during President Mahama’s keynote address at the Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt, where he highlighted the need for greater investment in health manufacturing and regional value chains.

President Mahama said the initiative was developed in partnership with the African Medicines Agency, Institut Pasteur and Afrochampions to tackle some of the regulatory and financial challenges that continue to discourage investment in Africa’s health sector.

He explained that H-Enabler would operate as a data-driven system bringing regulatory procedures, clinical validation and commercialisation together within a single framework for investors and innovators.

According to him, removing unnecessary regulatory barriers is essential to building a stronger continental ecosystem capable of supporting pharmaceutical manufacturing and attracting investment into the health sector.

President Mahama said the initiative was also part of wider efforts to improve Africa’s ability to manufacture medicines and vaccines locally and reduce its heavy reliance on imports.

He noted that the continent currently imports more than 70 per cent of its pharmaceuticals and almost 99 per cent of its vaccines, leading to substantial financial resources being spent outside Africa on essential health products.

The President said H-Enabler would provide a more predictable environment for investors and manufacturers while helping to strengthen regional health value chains.

He also disclosed that, through the Accra Reset Presidential Council, Ghana was establishing dedicated task forces and reform interlock observatories to monitor capital flows, track policy commitments and tackle non-tariff barriers that affect regional value chains.

President Mahama called for increased involvement of private investors, industrial developers, commercial banks and sovereign funds in expanding Africa’s health manufacturing capacity.

He further urged African regulators to hasten the operationalisation of the African Medicines Agency, arguing that a harmonised regulatory framework could allow a single drug approval to facilitate access to medicines across multiple African countries.

He said closer regulatory cooperation, coupled with increased investment in local production, would be crucial to strengthening Africa’s health sovereignty and enabling countries on the continent to respond more effectively to future health emergencies.