18 February 2008
Honourable Minister of Health of South Africa and Chairman of the Conference of African Ministers of Health, Dr. M. Tshabalala-Msimang
The Chairperson of the Meeting,
Committee Members,
Representatives of Partner Organizations,
Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I will like to start by thanking our host, the Department of Health of the Republic of South Africa ably led by the Honourable Minister. We thank them for their hospitality and the facilities put at our disposure. I would also like to welcome you all to the Kopanong Conference Centre and to the 2nd Meeting of the Technical Committee on the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa. I hope you had a pleasant flight and that you find your stay in this city a comfortable one, most of all I wish you fruitful deliberations during this very important meeting. I would also like to convey the sincere apologies of Adv. Bience Gawanas; Commissioner for Social Affairs who would have been very delighted to attend but has been unable to make it due to other urgent commitments related to her portfolio.
Let me try to put in context the reason we are gathered here today. Africa, with just only over 10 percent of the world population, is bearing 25 percent of the global burden of disease. This is compounded by poverty and other challenges. Hitherto, African countries are depending on imported drugs, both generic and proprietary. The fact that countries that are major suppliers of these generics are supposed to comply with patent laws as of 2005 is a major threat to access to affordable generic medicines in Africa. It was against this background therefore that the AU Ministers of Health adopted a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa, which was developed in line with the AU Heads of State and Government decision that was adopted in Abuja in January 2005. The overall aim of this strategy is to harmonize local production of the most-needed generic medicines in Africa while ensuring economic and technical viability. The Assembly Heads of State and Government endorsed the plan during their last summit in Accra, Ghana in July 2007.The Heads of States and Government emphasized the need for regional cooperation through regional centres of excellence, among other strategies. This would be cost effective, as many countries would not have adequate market for their products.
The advantages of Africa's ability to have local pharmaceutical products include among others; ensuring self-sufficiency in drug supply, savings on foreign exchange, employment creation, technology transfer, and value addition for easily available raw materials.
With respect to production capacity, we know that of the 46 World Health Organization-Africa Region countries, 37 have local production capacity although only one has limited primary production, which means that local production in Africa relies on imported active ingredients. We are also aware that national capacity for production is on the rise in a few African countries producing between 60% and 95% of their national requirements for essential medicines. A few others have also started local production of generic medicines.
As you may recall, during the inaugural Meeting of this Technical Committee which took place at the AU Headquarters in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia in October 2007,it was agreed that as a way forward, Africa needs to decide what medicines to produce, how to produce them, what regulatory systems are required, and what trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to use. Furthermore, the need to assess the required human and financial resources was expressed. In order to address these issues the Ministers of Health established the Technical Committee, which has been mandated to study detailed implications of local production and come up with a concrete plan for the second Phase which is in essence, the object of this meeting.
Just to remind you, the members of this committee comprise:
North Africa (Egypt and Libya)
West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal)
Central Africa (Burundi, Cameroon and Gabon)
East Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia)
Southern Africa (South Africa and Angola)
The AU is very much aware of the challenges that this initiative poses but is nevertheless determined to make progress. We count on your expertise to facilitate efforts to ensure that for close to one billion Africans out there waiting for these pharmaceutical products at affordable costs and in sufficient quantities. Your role is, therefore, very critical but requires commitment and some of your time. Inter-country or regional cooperation is one strategy to promote for sharing expertise and market.
Africa cannot succeed on its own. The Countries and Regions need to work closely with relevant Partners, through well-coordinated and harmonised partnerships. In this regard, it is important that the partners are part and parcel of this process from the beginning.
I thank you for your attention.