ABCHealth recently announced the West Africa AfCFTA-Anchored Pharma Initiative at the Africa Investment Summit on Health. This initiative is designed to boost the local production of drugs and medical equipment in West Africa and eventually across the continent.
The Africa Investment Summit on Health was organized by the African Business Coalition for Health (ABCHealth), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the National Institutes for Health (NIH).
The virtual summit hosted Dr. Daniel Ngamije, Rwanda minister of health; African Union Commission (AUC) deputy chairperson, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa; Aliko Dangote Foundation CEO, Ms. Zouera Youssoufou; Africa CDC, Dr. John Nkengasong; The Africa Medicine Agency (AMA) Special Envoy, Dr. Michel Sidibe; CEO of African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki; and Honourable Matthew Hancock, Member of Parliament of UK among many other eminent speakers and business leaders.
It is to be noted that ABCHealth was launched in 2019 as a partnership between business champions, philanthropists, and development institutes.
Founder and chairman of the board of Coronation Capital Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede mentioned that they are glad to see their partnership with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) grow to such a level.
The support from the international community, governments, and businesses in Africa must eliminate the idea that they cannot produce the medicines and equipment for the population with the highest disease burden, he added.
Dr. Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General & Executive Secretary of Economic Commission for Africa, stated that since the launch of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement there are immense opportunities in Africa’s public and private sector.
Imports of medicines and medical equipment that increased to USD20 billion in 2018 from USD 4.2 billion in 1998 are an example of the great business opportunities in Africa’s healthcare market.
President of Resilient Health Systems, Dr. Olusoji Adeyi, moderated the summit which highlighted major findings from the second edition of the Health and Economic Growth in Africa Report, ‘Doing Health Differently in Africa: Now and Beyond COVID-19’.
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