The three countries presented their candidacy in a hard-fought battle. The question of the allocation of the permanent headquarters of the African Medicines Agency should be decided at the next African Union summit, scheduled for early 2023.
LAfrican Medicines Agency (AMA) is taking shape. An idea of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the African Union (AU) in 2009, which was finally structured last November. The new body will aim to regulate the pharmaceutical sector on the continent in order to provide resources to the whole of Africa and export its products.
Now, with the formalization of the entity, the debate rages on the location of its headquarters. Several countries have applied to host the body that will oversee the entire pharmaceutical organization on the continent. Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia are the main contenders. The three countries have already officially submitted their applications to both the AU and the WHO.
An opportunity for Morocco
For Morocco, this would be an opportunity to further establish itself in a buoyant market, the Moroccan pharmaceutical industry being one of the most important in Africa. In 2019, the country achieved a turnover of 16 billion dirhams and came to produce more than 400 million units, becoming one of the main exporters, with production between 11 and 12%.
The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, seized the opportunity of the presentation the progress report relating to the ratification of the treaty establishing WADA, during the 40th ordinary session of the Executive Council of the African Union, held on February 3 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to declare that the kingdom was “ willing to host the headquarters of WADA and to develop South-South partnership projects with CDC-Africa (African Centers for Control and disease prevention)”.
In this wake, Morocco ratified, on April 5 at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the treaty establishing WADA. “As a member of the African Union and a regional leader in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in terms of infrastructure, technology and experience acquired over the years, Morocco remains very committed to the high quality of medicines and is aware that the health and safety of African citizens depend on quality medicinal products and effective drugs”, underlined Mohamed Arrouchi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the country to the African Union and the ECA-UN (Economic Commission for Africa).
Fratricidal battle
The Algerian Prime Minister also received Michel Sidibé, the African Union’s special envoy for WADA, and proposed his candidacy. A detailed report was sent by the Minister of Pharmaceutical Industry, Abderrahmane Djamel Lotfi Benbahmed, in which he underlined the advantages of the country and the added value that the installation of the headquarters in Algeria would represent.
On the Tunisian side, President Kaïs Saïed commented on his country’s candidacy, recalling that Tunisia has significant assets to host WADA. The Tunisian Minister of Health, Ali Maret, subsequently sent a document officially presenting his participation.
As a reminder, the Maghreb countries are not the only ones in the running. Uganda and Senegal are also in the race. WADA should enable the continent to achieve self-sufficiency in medicines.
