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In an effort to maximize the opportunity arising from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and in order to realize the objectives of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa, a pharmaceutical project is being commissioned in select African countries, to include the Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles and the Sudan anchored by Ethiopia and Kenya, and with the involvement of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The objective of the project is to bring ideas into action through the successful launching of a pilot project using select pharmaceutical products for the improvement of reproductive and child health. Ultimately, the aim is for the initiative to embrace the entire continent.
The country selection for this initiative emanated from a recent business forum on the pharmaceutical industry in the Horn of Africa. The AfCFTA Regional Trade Forum took place in Addis Ababa on 28 and 29 June 2019and focused on the theme “AfCFTA implementation: breaking down geographical, logistical and regulatory barriers to trade and investment in the Horn to boost industrialization: a focus on the pharmaceutical industry”. Policy recommendations from the Forum supported the selection of those countries mentioned – which includes small island States – to participate in the pilot, in order to showcase the African Continental Free Trade Area, with the aim of elevating the initiative to the continental level once a track record has been established. IGAD was selected to participate as the regional economic community, in view of one of its health initiatives, which complements the proposed pilot project. Read more