President Mahama leaves African investors, regulators with three questions on health sovereignty

President John Dramani Mahama has challenged financiers, regulators and industrial leaders across Africa to answer three key questions that he believes could help the continent achieve health sovereignty.

Speaking at the Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt, President Mahama said governments could not finance the transformation of Africa’s health sector alone and called for stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors.

“I would like to leave the panel and audience with three key questions,” he said.

His first question was directed at financiers.

“What specific de-risking instruments and blended finance structures do you need from our governments to deploy patient capital into African pharmaceutical manufacturing plants?”

President Mahama said Africa needs long-term investment to build pharmaceutical factories and develop the capacity to produce medicines locally.

He then challenged regulators to accelerate efforts to create a more integrated continental regulatory system.

“How quickly can we operationalise the African Medicines Agency to ensure that a single drug approval opens the door to all 54 AU member states?”

He argued that reducing regulatory barriers would make it easier for pharmaceutical companies to operate across African markets and expand production.

The third question was directed at industrialists.

“What strategic partnerships do you need to move from basic packaging and fill-and-finish operations to full active pharmaceutical ingredient synthesis on African soil?”

President Mahama said answering these questions would help bring governments and businesses together to build a stronger pharmaceutical industry on the continent.

He noted that Africa currently imports more than 70 percent of its pharmaceuticals and nearly 99 percent of its vaccines, describing the situation as both a health challenge and an economic opportunity.

According to him, greater local production would help retain foreign exchange, create jobs, strengthen manufacturing and protect African countries from disruptions in global supply chains.

President Mahama also urged African governments and businesses to stop viewing healthcare simply as a budgetary expense.

“Let us stop treating health as a line-item expense in our budget. Let us build the factories, integrate supply chains, fund innovators and secure our citizens’ future,” he said.

He called on African leaders, private investors, commercial banks and industrial developers to work together to turn the continent’s large health market into a foundation for sustainable economic growth.

For President Mahama, the objective is clear: to move Africa from dependence on imported health products towards greater local production, investment and health security.