African Development Bank Unveils The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation
African Development Bank Unveils The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. The African Development Bank Group has formally introduced its new initiative that will join hands with the African Union to boost Africa’s capacity to produce drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics all along the value chain, to help build its pharmaceutical sector.
The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation (APTF) was the focus of a forum hosted by the African Development Bank under the theme: “Technology Access for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation.” The event was part of the 2nd International Conference on Public Health in Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, on 14 December.
According to the African Development Bank, the continent imports more than 70% of the medicines it needs at the cost of $14 billion annually. Changing the game to enable African countries develop their capacity to manufacture pharmaceutical products has public health, strategic and economic rationales. “This new initiative comes as a solution, since most [African] countries still face challenges in receiving [medicines] on time,” Dr. Yvan Butera, Rwandan Minister of State for Health, commented. The Foundation, hosted by the Government of Rwanda in Kigali, is expected to commence operations in early 2023.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Solomon Quaynor, Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation at the African Development Bank Group, said Covid-19 had exposed the gaps in Africa’s health care system. “The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of global health systems and the gaps in the production of critical drugs on the continent.” He added: “The APTF is a ground-breaking institution that will significantly enhance Africa’s access to technologies that underpin the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.”
Presenting the APTF at the event, Prof. Padmashree Gehl Sampath, Special Adviser on pharmaceuticals and health infrastructure to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, stressed that the Foundation was designed to help African countries bridge the technology gaps in sustainable domestic manufacturing. Prof. Sampath said: “Pharmaceutical companies in Africa have three specific impediments to technology access: access to technology and related know-how for production, mobilization of domestic resources for technological upgrading, and the lack of possibilities for horizontal and vertical product diversification. Many technological risks need to be indemnified to build Africa’s pharmaceutical sector, including shifting away from a product-by-product approach which puts African companies at risk.”
The co-chair of the International Negotiating Body of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, Dr. Precious Matsoso, reflected on how important technology issues are for future pandemic preparation. She said establishing the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation “would provide the much-needed support to address technology barriers for equitable access.” Describing the establishment of the Foundation as “timely,” given the experience of Covid-19, Dr. Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Initiative, stressed that the initiative “will help in saving lives on the continent”.
