Ethiopia calls for stronger East African production of medicines and medical supplies
Health Minister Mekdes Daba has urged stronger local pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing to reduce East Africa’s exposure to external supply disruptions.
In short
- Health Minister Mekdes Daba has urged stronger local pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing to reduce East Africa’s exposure to external supply disruptions.
Ethiopia’s Health Minister Mekdes Daba has called for stronger pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing within East Africa, arguing that local production is essential to protect the region from disruptions in external supply chains.
Mekdes made the remarks on August 21 at the opening of the 13th East Africa Healthcare Federation Conference and International Health Exhibition in Addis Ababa.
The conference brings regional health-sector participants together in the Ethiopian capital. The minister’s comments framed manufacturing capacity as a resilience issue for health systems that depend on imported medicines, equipment and other supplies.
The event also aligns with Ethiopia’s stated ambition to strengthen Addis Ababa’s role as a regional healthcare centre. Turning that ambition into measurable gains will depend on investment, regulatory capacity, skilled workers and reliable access to inputs.
No specific production target, investment figure or implementation timetable was included in the available source record.
