Health experts gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, on Tuesday to discuss a regulatory framework for the manufacture of African vaccines and pharmaceutical and biotechnology issues in East Africa.
The conference aims to strengthen regional capacities in biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and production. It is being held in conjunction with the East Africa Pharma and Biotech conference, organized by the Rwandan government and the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa).
At the opening of the conference, Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Yvan Butera, called for “collaboration between research centers, universities, and the private sector to help create clusters that facilitate innovation in the pharmaceutical industry”.
The Minister stressed the need for a functional system capable of absorbing the technologies needed to deal with emerging epidemics and pandemics.
The key speakers also stressed the need for greater investment and collaboration with the biopharmaceutical industry on the continent and beyond to achieve universal health coverage and health security for Africa.
Meanwhile, stakeholders noted that dependence on imports of healthcare products remains a major concern on the continent, which imports almost 99% of its vaccines and over 95% of its medicines.