Five ways to scale up African manufacturing of lifesaving health products

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has remained among the last to access necessary medical supplies and tools, from personal protective equipment and diagnostics to treatments and vaccines.

With limited local manufacturing, many countries rely on imports, but supply chain disruptions have slowed imports and producing countries have reduced exports to meet their own needs. Moreover, many wealthy countries procured more doses than they could use, leaving little to those with less purchasing power.

But these challenges are not new – the pandemic has only highlighted the continent’s longstanding and inequitable access to life-saving medical supplies. Accordingly, concerted efforts are underway to strengthen Africa’s capacity to develop and produce health products that meet its needs.

Several countries in Africa already have vaccine and drug manufacturing capabilities and fill and finish capabilities – the steps that follow production, such as syringe filling, labeling, packaging and inspection quality. But there is still a significant gap to be filled.

Africa, which has nearly 17% of the world’s population, accounts for only 3% of global drug production. The continent matters more than 80 percent of its pharmaceutical products consumed, a stark contrast – for example – with India, which imports only 20 percent.

Today, the continent is still short of life-saving medical supplies, and with the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and other public health challenges, experts – and the public – fear the worst is yet to come. .

That’s why PATH is working with a coalition of partners to reduce the continent’s dependence on foreign countries. Together, we have identified five ways to build African manufacturing capacity and help ensure equitable access to high-quality health products for all.