The AHF urges African nations to unlock access to affordable medicines and manufacturing potential

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has called on African governments to accelerate ratification and regulatory harmonization to expand access to affordable medicines and unlock the continent’s pharmaceutical manufacturing potential.

The call comes as more than 20 member states of the African Union (AU) are yet to ratify the African Medicines Agency (AMA) treaty.

The AHF made the appeal on Friday in a statement from its Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborisade.

The statement came as the AMA convenes its inaugural week in Kigali, Rwanda, from October 25 to 30, against a backdrop of continued reliance on imported medicines, fragmented regulatory systems and growing calls for African health sovereignty.

The African pharmaceutical market is estimated at $30 billion, but 70 to 95% of medicines consumed on the continent are imported.

The foundation said presentations during AMA Week also highlighted a pharmaceutical trade deficit of about $12.5 billion in 2020.

As African countries continue to spend billions importing medicines from India and other global suppliers, fragmented regulatory requirements are limiting local manufacturers’ ability to scale production and access regional markets.

He added that, as reported during AMA Week, 33 AU member states had ratified the AMA treaty by October 2026.

According to AHF, accelerating ratification is essential to building a coordinated continental regulatory system that supports local production while ensuring access to safe, effective and quality-assured medical products.

“Africa cannot achieve health sovereignty while remaining heavily dependent on imported medicines and vulnerable to disruptions to global supply chains.

“We congratulate the AMA for taking this bold step towards a more coordinated regulatory environment. Now we must translate political commitments into action,” said AHF Executive Vice President Penninah Iutung.

Discussions during AMA Week highlighted the practical obstacles facing pharmaceutical manufacturers.

“80% of local manufacturers in attendance identified unpredictability of regulatory review and approval timelines as their top challenge, 77% cited different regulatory requirements across African countries, and 54% cited duplicate requests, assessments and inspections.

“These barriers increase costs, delay access to medicines and discourage investment in African pharmaceutical manufacturing.

“Harmonized requirements, predictable approval times, shared assessments and stronger collaboration between national regulators could help manufacturers serve more markets more efficiently,” he said.

He also quoted the Executive Director of the Global Public Health Institute, Dr. Jorge Saavedra, as saying that the creation of the AMA is an important investment in Africa’s collective capacity to protect public health and shape the future of global health.

“Regulatory harmonization must go hand in hand with technology transfer, research and development and the strengthening of African scientific institutions.

“Africa’s health sovereignty must move from aspiration to implementation. A strong African Medicines Agency is an important part of this journey,” he said.

The AHF said it stands ready to collaborate with African governments, the AMA, scientists, academia, civil society and industry to promote a resilient, equitable and self-sustaining African healthcare ecosystem.