RWANDA – Rwanda has landed a major deal to host the Head Quarters of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) to enhance capacity of state parties and regional economic communities (REC) to regulate medical products with an aim to improve Africa’s access to quality medical products.

AMA is a proposed specialized agency of the African Union intended to facilitate the harmonization of regulatory requirements in African pharmaceutical markets to guarantee access to quality, safe and efficacious medicines, medical products and technologies on the continent.

Earlier, eight candidates were confirmed as candidates to host the continental regulatory agency during the First Ordinary Session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) to the African Medicines Agency Treaty held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It is essential to maintain the momentum and fully establish the African Medicines Agency, without which Africa cannot independently authorize and regulate medicines and vaccines

Rwanda President Paul Kagame

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The eight African Union Member States selected as final candidates to host the permanent headquarters of the African Medicines Agency include Uganda, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Rwanda, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

All eyes on Rwanda as the country’s bid to host the headquarters of the African Medicines Agency was selected during the 41st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union held in Lusaka, Zambia happening between July 14th – July 15th 2022.

The Executive Council of the African Union chose Rwanda to host the headquarters of the African Medicines Agency which will be the second specialized health agency of the African Union after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki encouraged all Member States and partners to support the African Union and its Africa CDC to successfully implement and ensure health security as embodied in Africa’s New Public Health Order.

The New Public Health Order embodies five key pillars namely strengthening continental and national level institutions that contribute to public health particularly the Africa CDC and Africa Medicines Agency at the continental level.

The public health order also focuses on strengthening Africa’s public health workforce which involves training the right professionals in adequate numbers then deploying them where they are needed the most at country and continental levels.

Africa’s New Public Health Order highlights that the importance of local manufacturing of all health products needed in the region including diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to ensure that Africa’s supply chains for life-saving items is secure.

Other objectives include partnerships that are action-oriented and respectful of priorities in Africa and mobilizing domestic resources such as professionals, technology and funds to ensure that Africa can respond faster to any disease threats.

Subsequently, the African Medicines Agency will encourage pharmaceutical knowledge sharing between African countries as well as expand access to effective, safe and quality medicines for patients in the region to support the continent’s fight against health crises.

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