In a development that has drawn applauses from stakeholders, the government of Rwanda and the African Union Commission (AUC) have finalized arrangement for the establishment of the headquarters of the first ever African Medicines Agency in Kigali.
According to local reports, the country also signed an agreement with the African Union to host the headquarters of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) in Kigali.
It was reported that the deal was sealed a few days after the Rwandan authorities officially agreed to host the AMA’s headquarters on their territory.
It could be recalled that in 2019, the African countries adopted the treaty establishing the Agency, which came into force in 2021.
Its creation is part of the African Union’s strategy to reduce the continent’s dependence on pharmaceutical products supplied by foreign countries.
It is germane to note that Africa imports 97% of the pharmaceutical products it needs.
Experts have advised that the agency should regulate and harmonise this market on the continent, encourage production in Africa and tackle the traffic of counterfeit medicines.
AU Commissioner for Health, Minata Samaté Cessouma, strongly advised that Africa must prepare for other pandemics after Covid-19, and the agency’s objective will be to propose “African solutions”.
According to Rwandan Minister of Health, Sabin Nsanzimana, more than four years after the adoption in 2019 of the treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency, this is a first step towards making this new African Union body operational.
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