Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) Chairperson Dr John Munyu has urged African countries to accelerate regulatory harmonisation and collaboration to unlock the continent’s potential in local health product manufacturing and trade.
Munyu was speaking at the Seventh Biennial Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA VII) in Mombasa.
Dr Munyu said the conference theme — “Regulatory Harmonisation: Unlocking Africa’s Potential in Health Product Manufacturing and Trade” — reflects a shared ambition for a stronger, self-reliant and resilient Africa.
“Africa imports over 90 per cent of its medicines and produces less than one per cent of its vaccines. This is not just a statistic — it is a reminder of our dependence and vulnerability, which the COVID-19 pandemic painfully exposed,” Dr Munyu said.
He noted that recent health emergencies, including the Monkeypox outbreak declared a continental public health emergency by the Africa CDC in 2024, have demonstrated the urgent need for coordinated and responsive regulatory systems.
Dr Munyu highlighted that the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH) programme has laid a strong foundation for progress over the past decade, through harmonised regulatory frameworks and the digitalisation of processes across regional blocs.
This progress, he said, has culminated in the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), headquartered in Kigali, which represents a new era of collaboration and accountability.
“The AMA embodies Africa’s vision of self-reliance and resilience. SCoMRA VII offers a strategic platform to translate this vision into tangible action — to catalyse local manufacturing, promote intra-African trade under the AfCFTA, and ensure that quality, safe, and efficacious medical products reach every African,” he added.
The PPB Chair applauded the leadership of Dr Mimi Darko, the first Director-General of AMA, who will deliver her inaugural address during the conference, assuring her of Kenya’s and Africa’s full support in ensuring AMA’s success.
Dr Munyu further outlined the focus areas for the three-day conference, including strengthening regulatory oversight to attract and sustain local manufacturing investments, advancing pooled procurement mechanisms, leveraging artificial intelligence and digitalisation to modernise regulatory ecosystems, and deepening partnerships across public, private, and research institutions.
“The delegates gathered here — regulators, policymakers, manufacturers, and partners — are the architects of a new regulatory future for Africa. Let us move from dialogue to decisive action and leave Mombasa with a clear, actionable roadmap,” he urged.
He expressed appreciation to partners including the World Health Organization (WHO), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, German Cooperation (GIZ), and the Africa Public Health Foundation for their support in advancing Africa’s regulatory agenda.
Dr Munyu reaffirmed the PPB’s continued commitment to strengthening national, regional, and continental regulatory systems through reliance, collaboration and innovation.
“Our objectives are clear, our potential immense, and our collective resolve remains key to unlocking it,” he said, setting the tone for the high-level deliberations ahead of the conference’s official opening by the Health Cabinet Secretary on 12 November 12.