Kigali, Rwanda – A $11.96 million investment from the African Development Fund will help establish the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation in Kigali, Rwanda, with the goal of expanding access to cutting-edge medical care and bolstering the continent’s pharmaceutical industry.
With its headquarters located in Kigali, Rwanda, THE African Development Fund has approved a grant of $11.96 million to hasten the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. The Regional Pharmaceutical Sector Support Project in Rwanda is intended to be made easier to undertake with the help of this significant financial support and a $1.93 million commitment from the Rwandan government.
“The project should produce considerable benefits (outputs and outcomes) throughout Africa,” said Aissa Touré Sarr, head of the African Development Bank’s Rwanda country office, expressing excitement about the initiative’s potential. By addressing common diseases, expanding access to cutting-edge medications and treatments, and bolstering the continent’s general health resilience, the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation’s cutting-edge research and technical advancements should improve health care results.
According to africabriefing.com, the African Development Fund’s assistance is expected to strengthen the pharmaceutical industry’s regulatory framework throughout Africa and provide access to cutting-edge pharmaceutical innovations.
The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation was founded in June 2022 by the African Development Bank, and in December 2023 it signed a host country agreement with the Rwandan government. Presented as an open middleman, the organization works to encourage and broker technological exchanges among global South nations and pharmaceutical companies to alleviate the barriers that African nations encounter in obtaining medical supplies and vaccine production technologies.
The foundation will give African medicines’ capacity building first priority, encouraging regional manufacturing and technological advancement. In order to improve the pharmaceutical environment on the continent, it will also foster innovation in pharmaceuticals and vaccines and enhance human and professional competence in the field.
With the support of the African Development Fund, the Foundation—which the Rwandan government has recognized as an international organization—will be able to hire professionals and specialized technological companies and purchase office supplies more easily. Administrative, human resource, financial, and contractual systems are only a few of the health and pharmaceutical services that will be supported by these resources.
Project components will also include training in good manufacturing techniques, consulting services, information sharing, and efforts to improve the quality and safety of pharmaceuticals. It will be in line with attempts to harmonize regulations across the area, such as the East African Community’s mutual recognition scheme.
The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation will work closely with a range of partners to support pharmaceutical development in Africa, including the African Union Medicines Agency, Africa CDC, European Union, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, Medicines Patent Pool, and charitable organizations.
Securing relationships with organizations such as the European Investment Bank and receiving significant assistance from Germany, the foundation is at the forefront of innovative cross-continental engagement between the public and private sectors.
