Dear subscriber,
Africa can build all the pharmaceutical factories it wants. But manufacturers need reliable orders to keep production running. Bringing buyers together could give them a stronger reason to invest.
Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor
Africa has spent years building the capacity to manufacture more of its own health products. Yet despite notable progress, manufacturers cannot fully utilise their capacity because the market is not large and predictable enough to sustain investment. New developments in Ghana and Uganda suggest pooled procurement is moving to solve this.
Uganda’s Dei BioPharma has been approved as a supplier under the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism, giving the manufacturer a route to compete for aggregated demand beyond its domestic market. The company has 40 products approved for manufacture and 14 for sale.
Ghana has joined the mechanism, giving its vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturers access to aggregated demand from 55 African Union member states. The country is also developing advance purchase commitments to give manufacturers greater visibility over future orders.
Our take: A bigger market could still leave many African manufacturers behind. Large pooled tenders will favour companies that can already supply at scale and meet tougher regulatory requirements…Read more (2 min)
African healthtech has attracted investment into telemedicine and diagnostics, but the systems that get medicines to community clinics and pharmacies remain fragmented. Kemi Sope Agbebi, a pharmacist and executive healthcare advisor, argues that connected supply chains could improve the last mile and ensure access of medicines across Africa.
“The most sophisticated digital health tool is useless if the pharmacy shelves are empty. While the ecosystem has heavily funded front-end clinical innovations like telemedicine, diagnostic tech and patient-facing apps, the back-end infrastructure that actually delivers care remains critically fragmented. The last mile of pharmaceutical distribution to community clinics and retail pharmacies is quite inefficient,” says Mrs Agbebi.
She argues that linking clinic inventory systems directly to distributors could automate reordering and reduce stockouts.
Read the full opinion…Read more (2 min)
Medical hiring this month is strongest in digital health, clinical services, reproductive health, supply chains and programme management, with 44 mid and senior level roles open across Africa. West Africa leads with 12 positions, followed by North Africa with 11, East Africa with 9, and Central and Southern Africa with 6 each.
Digital health and monitoring roles are prominent, with openings at UNICEF, Management Sciences for Health, Partners In Health, ThinkWell, FHI 360 and Corus International.
The most active recruiters include Clinton Health Access Initiative, FHI 360, Partners In Health, Management Sciences for Health, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Marie Stopes International and the University of Pretoria, each with two openings.
Full list…Read more (2 min)
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New report reveals opportunities for generic medicine manufacturers to bridge access gaps
Events
🗓️ Participate in World Health Expo in Kenya (Sept 18)
🗓️ Register for the Africa Healthtech Summit in Rwanda (Sept 30)
🗓️ Join the International Conference on Public Health in Ethiopia (Nov 23)
Various
💉Lesotho receives equipment from WHO to strengthen pandemic response
💉Vaccines reach 23 million Nigerian children in six months
💉WHO prequalifies multi-dose vial of the maternal respiratory vaccine
Seen on LinkedIn
Dr Favour Kalu, a medical doctor, says, “We hear a lot about Artificial Intelligence transforming healthcare. But when it comes to Africa, I think we should ask a more important question: Can AI actually improve healthcare in Africa? I believe it can but only if we build it around our realities.”