President John Dramani Mahama has said the development of Africa’s pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturing industries could create high-value jobs and help address the continent’s growing unemployment challenge.
He said investment in local production would generate employment opportunities across research, biotechnology, engineering, clinical trials and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Addressing the Health Plenary of the Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt, President Mahama said Africa currently faced what he described as a structural paradox in its health workforce.
He said the World Health Organization reports that Africa is short of about six million health workers, while approximately 943,000 trained healthcare professionals and science graduates remain unemployed on the continent.
President Mahama said developing local healthcare industries could help address both problems by creating new employment opportunities while retaining skilled professionals in Africa.
“Local manufacturing generates jobs in research and development, clinical trials, engineering and biotechnology, helping retain talent and employ youth,” he said.
He argued that Africa’s growing population and expanding demand for medicines provided a strong foundation for the development of a large health manufacturing industry.
The continent’s population, he said, is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, creating a growing market for essential medicines, chronic disease treatments and biologics.
President Mahama said local production would also help reduce the financial burden associated with importing medicines and vaccines from outside the continent.
Africa currently imports more than 70 percent of its pharmaceuticals and nearly 99 percent of its vaccines, according to figures cited by the President.
He said shifting production to Africa could therefore retain more economic value within the continent while creating opportunities for young professionals.
President Mahama also linked local manufacturing to affordability, arguing that domestic production could reduce logistics costs and intermediary margins and improve access to quality medicines.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Area provided an opportunity for manufacturers to access a market of about 1.4 billion people rather than being restricted to individual national markets.
The President called on African governments and businesses to invest in the infrastructure, skills and regulatory systems required to build competitive health industries.
He said the ultimate objective should be to establish an integrated continental health economy capable of producing medicines, vaccines and other health products while creating jobs for Africa’s growing youth population.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️) Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
