African regional hubs to manufacture health products: Towards comprehensive joint AU-EU actions
Authors
Karim Karaki, Pamella Ahairwe, Philomena Apiko and San Bilal highlight ten considerations for African and European policymakers to take into account in their joint efforts to strengthen Africa’s local capacity to manufacture vaccines and health products.
The sixth EU-AU Summit is an opportunity to create political momentum for setting up regional pharma-manufacturing hubs in Africa for local production of vaccines and health products.
Summary
In the context of the health partnership between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), African and European leaders want to strengthen Africa’s local capacity to manufacture vaccines and health products. In doing so, the objective is to improve access to affordable and quality health products, enhance Africa’s autonomous capacity to meet its health needs, and support the development of resilient health systems. This brief highlights ten key considerations for policymakers to take into account to achieve this objective.
The sixth EU-AU Summit is an opportunity to create political momentum for setting up regional pharma-manufacturing hubs in Africa for local production of vaccines and health products. It could also pave the way for a more holistic and coordinated approach between Africa and Europe to address the urgent health-related challenges they are confronted with. Such a comprehensive approach could furthermore help deepen trade and regional integration, and contribute to strengthening the resilience of health systems.
