Africa imports 70-80% of its drugs, losing $2.6tn yearly due to ill-health — AfDB chief

Africa imports between 70 and 80% of its medicines, according to Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), who also warned that the continent suffers an annual loss of $2.6 trillion yearly due to lack of productivity caused by ill-health.

Speaking at a recent ceremony in Lagos where he was honored with the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, the AfDB boss said that “Africa loses today, $2.6 trillion in lack of productivity, due to illnesses and diseases.” He also recounted how the Covid-19 pandemic exposed Africa’s weakness in the area of healthcare as the continent was caught unprepared, unprotected and left at the bottom of the ladder when it came to the distribution of vaccines. “What is not acceptable or sustainable is that today, Africa imports 70 to 80% of its medicines and produces only one per cent of its vaccines. The health security of 1.4 billion people in Africa must not be subjugated or subjected to the generosity of others.”

He then outlined several initiatives introduced by the AfDB to address Africa’s health challenges, which include a $10 billion facility to assist countries in managing the pandemic and a $3 billion program aimed at revitalizing Africa’s pharmaceutical industries. Another initiative is the recent establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation that aims to support access to proprietary technologies from global pharmaceutical companies. It is part of the effort by African health leaders to increase the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products on the continent, as all attempts to increase technology transfers haven’t gained much traction.

With limited research and development on the continent, much of the technical innovation happens abroad, meaning intellectual property is also held overseas, making licensing and technology transfer key.