Delegates from across the African continent have pledged to deepen collaboration in the research, development, and regulation of medical products, as part of a broader effort to reduce the continent’s reliance on imported medicines and health technologies. Convened in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, the seventh biennial Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA VII) brought together policy leaders, regulators, and development partners to strategise on bolstering pharmaceutical sovereignty across the continent.
While Africa currently imports over 90 percent of its medicinal products and produces less than one percent of global vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic and previous health emergencies such as the Ebola outbreak have underscored the pressing need to develop robust, self-sustaining health systems. The disproportionate reliance on foreign supply chains during such crises revealed systemic vulnerabilities that many African policymakers now view as both urgent and remediable.
John Munyu, Chairperson of Kenya’s Pharmacy and Poisons Board, stated that the event served as more than a gathering of regulatory professionals. “SCoMRA VII is a strategic platform to catalyse local manufacturing, expand intra-African trade under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and ensure access to quality-assured, safe, and effective medical products,” he remarked. His comments reflected a growing sentiment across the continent that capacity building in pharmaceutical manufacturing is not merely a development goal, but a continental imperative.
At the heart of this vision is the African Medicines Agency (AMA), an institution mandated by the African Union to promote regulatory harmonisation and support the pharmaceutical industry across member states. The agency’s Director-General, Delese Mimi Darko, emphasised that increased local production will directly translate into greater access to affordable and high-quality medical products for African populations. She reiterated AMA’s commitment to facilitating this transition through regulatory support and technical coordination across borders.
Symerre Grey-Johnson, Director of Human Capital and Institutional Development at the African Union Development Agency – NEPAD, described the establishment of the AMA as a foundational move for Africa’s long-term health sovereignty. “We now have an institution that provides predictable regulatory functions and authoritative continental leadership. This is crucial for the sustainability of Africa’s healthcare future,” he noted.
The conference discussions highlighted the strategic role of regional value chains and knowledge sharing in supporting pharmaceutical resilience. Policymakers stressed the importance of aligning national regulatory frameworks with continental standards to enable seamless manufacturing and distribution of medical products. Moreover, the potential of the AfCFTA to drive economies of scale and cross-border trade in health commodities was a recurrent theme throughout the sessions.
Africa’s renewed focus on health manufacturing is not occurring in isolation. The World Health Organization and other global institutions have recognised the critical need to diversify vaccine and medicine production beyond the Global North. However, African leaders are positioning the continent not merely as a recipient of transferred technology, but as a site of innovation, regulatory leadership, and manufacturing competence in its own right.
What emerges from SCoMRA VII is a continent no longer content with passive participation in global health architectures. Instead, it signals a shift towards African-centred solutions, led by Africans and grounded in a realistic assessment of the continent’s industrial and regulatory potential. While significant challenges remain, particularly in infrastructure, financing, and workforce development, the political will and institutional frameworks now in place suggest that momentum is steadily building.
The pledge to strengthen local production is not only about reducing import bills. It represents a broader transformation towards inclusive development, public health equity, and continental resilience. As Africa moves to build the systems required to produce its own essential medicines and vaccines, the narrative is no longer one of dependency, but of strategic agency and collective action.
