Addis Ababa September 16/2022 (ENA) Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service (EPSS) have called on investors to enhance their engagement in local production of pharmaceuticals for improved access to medicine in the country.
International Pharmaceuticals Suppliers’ Conference was held today in Addis Ababa.
In
her keynote speech read to the conference participants, Health Minister
Dr. Lia Tadesse said an efficient pharmaceuticals supply chain system
and availability of adequate pharmaceuticals is crucial and vital to
attain the health transformation goals of the country.
In
this regard, EPSS is one of the key institutions in the country’s
health system that has played an indispensable role to the achievement
of the health sector goals in reducing morbidity and mortality that
result from communicable and non-communicable diseases through securing
and sustaining affordable and quality assured pharmaceuticals, she
added.
The
minister stressed the need for strong collaboration among stakeholders
to further improve pharmaceuticals supply chain, enhance the business
relationship of EPSS with its suppliers, understand the challenges
faced while working together, and set common solutions to address
challenges.
Besides
creating strong collaboration with pharmaceuticals suppliers, the
Government of Ethiopia encourages business persons to invest in
manufacturing pharmaceuticals in the country, she pointed out.
Dr.
Lia underscored that it is high time that the government gives emphasis
for the manufacturing sector in general and local pharmaceutical
manufacturing in particular.
Ethiopian
Pharmaceuticals Supply Service Director-General, Abdulkedir Gelgelo
said the limited number of registered suppliers has been the biggest
challenge in finding competitive bidders, suppliers, and supply chain.
According
to him, the supplier base of EPSS is almost limited and some of the
products have limited suppliers circulated in the market.
He
urged pharmaceutical organizations to take the opportunity and engage
in exporting and importing medicines and medical supplies as well as to
join the manufacturing sector by understanding the government’s
encouragement to support the pharmaceuticals sector, preferably through
local manufacturing or registration under Ethiopian Food and Drug
Authority to widen the supply base for sustainable pharmaceuticals
supply chain of the country.
Ethiopian
Food and Drug Authority Director-General, Heran Gerba said that the
authority has done a lot of legal frameworks, reform organizational
structures, improvement of regulatory process through digitalization,
creation of pathways for market authorization of health product,
medicine testing laboratory, among others, for improving access and
efforts to ensure quality and safety of health products.
The
authority has also set a strategy to promote pharmaceuticals production
with strong regulatory system of high maturity level, she added, noting
that it is extensively working to build quality management system on
regulatory functions.
The
one-day International Pharmaceuticals Suppliers’ Conference is aimed at
attracting manufacturers and suppliers into the Ethiopian
pharmaceuticals market by addressing bottlenecks and improving the
in-country supply chain operations through strengthening business
partnership with suppliers across the globe.