UNIDO, AU join forces on Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the African Union Commission (AUC) are working together to fine-tune the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa (PMPA).

The AUC had formally sought UNIDO to act in partnership for developing the PMPA which was originally endorsed by AU Head of States in 2007, says UNIDO in a statement.

According to UNIDO, the AUC has recognized the growing role the organisation played in recent debates on the potential benefits of an increased local manufacture of essential medicines in developing countries for both public health and industrial development outcomes.

“The UNIDO-AUC collaboration will initially focus on the formulation of a PMPA ‘business plan’ for adoption by AU policy makers in mid-2012 with the objective of moving rapidly to an implementation of the approach over an extended period likely to be at least five years,” says the statement.

The business plan, according to UNIDO will include a technical cooperation component to support individual countries in developing their pharmaceutical industries to positively influence access to medicines as well as to add to economic growth.

Other partners such as WHO, UNAIDS, USP and other relevant entities will be invited to participate in the formulation and ultimately implementation of this work, it noted.

By Ekow Quandzie