Apart from increasing healthcare results to have more productive individuals in the economy, boosting Africa’s pharmaceutical industry may generate enormous economic value.
- Most Africans lack the means to seek qualified healthcare providers for quality medication.
- Africa uses over 70 per cent of medicine imports, with the continent accounting for just 3 per cent of all medicine production globally.
- With African nations in desperate need of economic boosts, reinventing the continent’s pharmaceutical “wheel” as a contributor to development has become critical.
Most Africans lack the means to seek qualified healthcare providers for quality medication. People turn to self-help and alternative medicine to avoid medical expenditures, which are often out of reach. With less than 400 drug manufacturers to cater to the more than 1.3 billion people on the continent, millions of Africans die or suffer from protracted illnesses without consistent access to even the most essential medicines. Widespread ill health can trap people in poverty, as healthier people are more productive.
The pandemic’s effects have exacerbated Africa’s healthcare crisis in the last two years. The situation has captured the attention of investors who noted the gap between supply and demand in the pharmaceutical sector. Apart from increasing healthcare results to have more productive individuals in the economy, boosting Africa’s pharmaceutical industry may generate enormous economic value.
Addressing Africa’s pharmaceutical gap
Africa uses over 70 per cent of medicine imports, with the continent accounting for just 3 per cent of all medicine production globally. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed Africa’s vulnerabilities in guaranteeing access to vital drugs, vaccines, and health technologies. Today, more African governments consider the supply of affordable, safe, and effective medicines and vaccines as a national security issue.
Supply chain disruptions in 2020 severely affected the accessibility of medicines across the continent since many countries that produce pharmaceuticals restricted exports. Thus, the continent needs proper interventions to improve and strengthen health systems’ resilience. Currently, there is no option but to prioritise financing through local, national and global engagement in the pharmaceutical sector.
A thriving pharmaceutical sector that boosts access to quality medicines can improve Africa’s healthcare and propel economic growth. As such, boosting Africa’s pharmaceutical sector could help strengthen public health, save lives and reinforce African economies through the creation of local employment. Raising the standards in Africa’s pharmaceutical sector remains crucial. The continent cannot continue outsourcing the healthcare safety of its 1.3 billion citizens to the goodwill of others.
READ MORE: Digital health solutions: How Tanzanian youth connects pharmaceutical actors
Boosting Africa’s pharmaceutical industry
Capitalising on technology
The world is experiencing a radical shift as healthcare institutions try increasing service quality and efficiency via technology. Digitalisation has facilitated quick communication and accelerated vaccine research, production, and distribution, indicating its relevance to the future of pharma.
Africa has a unique chance to capitalise on technological breakthroughs. Technology will help bypass the infrastructural gaps affecting its pharmaceutical value chain to improve health outcomes on the continent favourably. Connecting patients to responsive, robust, and adaptable supply chains is a distinct quality technology that can contribute to Africa’s pharmaceutical industry.
Trade through AfCFTA crucial
Africa has more than 50 nations, each with its pharmaceutical market and trade rules. The advent of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) provides enormous integration prospects for pharmaceutical manufacturing and trade. The AfCFTA has established a massive trade bloc. The bloc perhaps provides a broader market and a better investment outlook for locally manufactured medicines.
Furthermore, due to its reliance on supply chains, the pharmaceutical sector promotes further value creation and job creation through its economic activity. These indirect economic impacts and the consequences of private consumption represent the pharmaceutical industry’s economic spillover effects. As a result, the pharmaceutical industry has had and will continue to have a considerable economic influence on the African economy in terms of GDP output and employment.
Significant economic value in Africa’s pharmaceutical industry
The economic effect of Africa’s pharmaceutical industry is two-fold. The pharmaceutical industry contributes directly to the total GDP by manufacturing pharmaceutical products, and it employs people.
The continent’s short-term objective is to be able to manufacture products studied and developed overseas locally. Medium and long-term goals will prioritise local development and research. Africa needs inclusive and solution-oriented responses to the issues posed by pharmaceutical industry gaps. In addition to being able to produce generic pharmaceuticals legally, this is a battle with many pharma giants currently.
Nonetheless, there is a reason for optimism. Significant developments have made the continent more feasible for pharmaceutical product manufacturing than it was a decade ago. This advancement, along with Africa’s rising population and the need for specialised treatments for illnesses heavily concentrated in Africa, such as malaria, provide a compelling reason for local pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Attention to regulatory standards is especially important in Africa, which accounts for around 42 per cent of the world’s cases of counterfeit drugs. A solid regulatory framework may assist in attracting long-term financial support, supporting more stable health systems and promoting a local manufacturing sector that tackles affordability and access concerns.
As a result, with African nations in desperate need of economic boosts, reinventing the continent’s pharmaceutical “wheel” as a contributor to development has become critical. This crucial venture requires public and private participation and, of course, the willingness of the West’s Big Pharma!
