On 14th July 2015 in Addis Ababa, on the side-lines of 3rd Conference on Financing for Development, the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister His Excellency, Mr Demeke Mekonnen, officially launched an ambitious 10-year national strategy and plan of action to develop local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in order to increase access to locally manufactured, quality-assured, medicines. The World Health Organization worked closely with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry over the last 6 months to help develop this, one of its kind strategy. The event was attended by many global and regional leaders, ministers, ambassadors and high-level government officials.
With phenomenal and consistent economic growth rate of more than 10% for more than last 10 years Ethiopia aims to graduate as a middle income country by 2025. The economic growth is being directed at human development. The strategy reflects Ethiopian aspiration to become a leading manufacturer in the continent and it uniquely combines the national policy vision for universal health coverage and industrial development, a framework that WHO has been advocating since 2011: http://www.who.int/phi/publications/local_production_policy_framework/en/
Speaking on the occasion the Deputy Prime Minister said that the strategy is going to be a flagship program of the next 5 year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II) i.e. national development plan.
African Union Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, commended the Ethiopian government for launching this strategy, which is a translation of the African Union Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa at country level:
http://sa.au.int/en/content/business-plan-pharmaceutical-manufacturing-plan-africa
For more information go to https://www.haiasiapacific.org/?page_id=530