**Kigali**: The African Regional Economic Communities are convening in Kigali to discuss the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism aimed at enhancing the procurement of medicines and encouraging local manufacturing, with a strategic focus on a $4 billion pooled fund designed to transform healthcare access across the continent.
Africa Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are convening in Kigali for a significant workshop aimed at discussing the implementation of an African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) focused on the procurement of medicines and medical supplies. The gathering also seeks to encourage local manufacturing as a long-term strategy. The event commenced on Wednesday and is jointly organised by the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and the University of Rwanda in collaboration with the EAC Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunization, and Health Supply Chain Management (UR/EAC RCE-VIHSCM).
This second consultative workshop builds upon the momentum established at the inaugural event held in Addis Ababa in August 2024. Key discussions are centred around the strategic utilisation of a pooled fund of $4 billion to initiate local manufacturing and procurement processes, aiming to enhance the framework established by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
One enduring challenge faced by the continent is access to affordable and high-quality healthcare products, a situation exacerbated by fragmented markets, small order sizes, and inadequate demand forecasting. Dr. Steven Karengera, the Director of EAC RCE-VIHSCM, emphasised the benefits of pooled procurement, stating, “Pooled procurement offers a solution, boosting collective bargaining power, increasing supply stability and attracting competitive suppliers.” Karengera indicated that the APPM represents a significant shift from existing regional initiatives, aiming to unify all African countries in bulk procurement efforts while also fostering an environment conducive to local manufacturing.
With Africa housing approximately 1.3 billion people, the APPM aims to streamline the manufacturing landscape by aggregating demand and enabling manufacturers to operate across borders without the burdens of complex permitting processes associated with each individual country. “We have to create a loop for manufacturing which currently needs to have active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) which are currently patronised by China and India,” said Karengera, highlighting the challenges posed by current regulatory practices that involve lengthy timelines and substantial costs for permits.
Dr. Julius Simon Otim, a Senior Health Officer at the EAC Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Programme, noted the collaborative potential of the APPM, suggesting that the initiative enables different regions to learn from successful practices already in place. “If something is working in one region, we don’t need to recreate it. We should simply adapt it,” Otim remarked. He revealed that a new law is being developed at the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), which would mandate all member countries to consider locally produced products before seeking alternatives from outside the region.
The workshop also aimed at advancing a coordinated approach to pooled procurement mechanisms across the continent. Eugenia Ingabire, Trade Policy Officer at the AfCFTA-Ghana Coordination Office, highlighted the importance of prioritising locally made products to enhance job creation, as emphasised by the Heads of State during the signing of the AfCFTA framework agreement in March 2018 in Kigali.
Contributing to the financial aspect of these initiatives, Ody Akhanoba, Director of Export Development Division at Afreximbank, declared that the institution has injected $2 billion since June of the previous year to support the implementation of the APPM. “So that two billion dollars will be made available to various players within the value chain so manufacturers will benefit from facilities,” Akhanoba explained. He elaborated that this funding aims to cater to the diverse financing needs of actors within the pharmaceutical value chain, enabling a more resilient and self-sufficient local manufacturing landscape.
The discussions occurring in Kigali hold the potential to reshape the landscape of health and medical supplies in Africa, fostering collaboration and collective strength within the continent’s regional communities.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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