Addis Ababa, April 17, 2022 ( FBC) – The Minister of Health, Dr. Lia Tadesse, has signed the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty today making Ethiopia the 29th member state of the African Union to sign the treaty.
The Minister said the AMA would complement national and regional efforts in developing a robust, predictable, and efficient regulatory system for medical products that have continental public health benefit.
Present at the signing ceremony, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union, congratulated the Minister’s leadership for showing commitments to sign the treaty.
She further reiterated the importance of the platform to establish a strong regulatory framework and create a vigorous local medical industry in the continent.
Although the AMA came into force on 5 November 2021, the African Union Commission expects to have the establishment and operationalization of the agency in full progress by 2023.
The Agency sets out to establish a strong regulatory framework that encourages the expansion of local medical product development, ensures the quality of medicines made and sold in Africa, and enhances public and industry confidence in Africa’s pharmaceutical and health care systems.