India-Africa Knowledge Exchange on Africa’s Pharmaceutical Sector
India is one of the pioneers in the manufacture of generic medicines and leading exporter to the African countries. India’s pharmaceutical sector has emerged as a major competitive player in the global market. This growth is due to a host of factors which laid emphasis on domestic industrial policy, enabling incentive structure, R & D policy and also pricing policy to make drugs cheaper.
A knowledge exchange workshop was organized by the African Development Bank in partnership with the African Network for Drug and diagnostic Innovation (ANDI), German International Cooperation (GIZ), Health Systems Research India Initiative (HSRII), Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, National health Systems Resource Centre, Public Health Foundation of India, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Bank to learn from India’s experience on its pharmaceutical sector.
The major focus of the knowledge exchange event was to understand the experiences from the Indian pharmaceutical industry and to use them to move ahead in the African countries. The main objective of the knowledge exchange visit was to learn from India’s progress in pharmaceutical policy, R&D, manufacturing, financing, procurement and distribution. The knowledge visit also explored the role of south-south cooperation in assisting the African countries in building capacity and systems for the pharmaceutical sector. The visit brought together representatives from Ministries of Finance, Health, Industry and Trade as well as pharmaceutical manufacturers, and development partners from various African nations and India.