Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has called for greater investment in regulatory harmonisation and local manufacturing of medical products to reduce Africa’s dependence on imports and safeguard public health.
Duale said the continent’s future health security depends on its ability to produce quality medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics at scale.
The CS was speaking during the 7th Biennial Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA VII) in Mombasa, where he represented President William Ruto.
“Africa still imports more than 90 per cent of its medicines. Strengthening regulatory systems and investing in manufacturing capacity are essential if we are to achieve health sovereignty,” he said.
He noted that Kenya is implementing end-to-end digital systems for procurement, quality surveillance, and track-and-trace of medical products to curb substandard and falsified commodities.
“By ensuring every shipment is verifiable from production to patient, we protect citizens, inspire investor confidence, and guarantee value for public resources,” he added.
CS Duale emphasised that digital innovation and artificial intelligence platforms are integral to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), enabling transparency, efficiency, and accountability across the health supply chain.
He further urged African countries to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Medicines Agency (AMA) frameworks to build a harmonised, investable market for quality-assured health products.
“Through partnership, performance, safety, and sustainability, we can unlock Africa’s full health potential and deliver real progress for our people,” CS Duale stated.
The three-day conference is being hosted by the Kenyan Government, in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Union Development Agency—NEPAD (AUDA—NEPAD), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other partners.
It is being held under the theme, ‘Regulatory harmonisation: Unlocking Africa’s potential in health product manufacturing and trade’.
The conference brings together policymakers, regulators, researchers, academia, manufacturers, and development partners from across Africa and globally.
The aim is to discuss advances in regulatory science and reflect on Africa’s progress in strengthening and harmonising medical product regulation.
Speaking during the Pre-Conference session, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Ahmed Mohamed said Kenya will partner with the Africa Medicines Agency (AMA) to fast-track the registration and approval of pharmaceutical products.
Mohamed said the move aimed at enhancing access to safe, effective and quality-assured medicines for the public.
Mohamed said the collaboration will strengthen Kenya’s regulatory capacity and shorten approval timelines for essential medicines, ensuring patients have access to life-saving products more efficiently.
“We intend to cooperate with the Africa Medicines Agency to fast-track registration of pharmaceutical products so that we can have them on the market sooner for the benefit of the public,” he stated.
He added that the Board has already begun harmonising pharmaceutical documentation to align with continental standards — a key step towards enhancing efficiency, transparency, and regional collaboration in health product regulation.