Streamlining Regulation of Medical Products: The 9th African Medicines Regulators Conference
From the 23rd-24th August , 2023, Kigali, Rwanda, played host to the 9th African Medicines Regulators Conference (AMRC). This significant event, organized collaboratively by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), African Union Commission (AUC), Rwanda Food and Drug Authority (FDA) and World Health Organization (WHO ), gathered 47 Heads of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) from across the continent.
This dynamic assembly served as a platform for exchanging insights, best practices, and regulatory strategies. The underpinning understanding was crystal clear: robust NRAs and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are pivotal in the African Medicines Agency's (AMA) development. Serving as the core strength of the AMA, these entities contribute expertise and drive the implementation of continental recommendations at the grassroots level.
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Regulators Seek Ratification of Continental Medicine Agency
The 9th African medicines regulators conference has opened in Kigali with a new drive to push African countries to ratify the African Medicines Agency (AMA)Treaty for the Establishment of the continental regulator.
The two-day conference that opened this August 23, 2023 showed that only 26 countries have so far ratified the agreement as the rest struggle with legal structures despite the urgency of establishing the agency.
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Strengthening Africa’s Development: Uniting Efforts through Collaboration
“Egypt’s vision, in light of its current chairmanship of the Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, is based on accelerating both economic integration and the implementation of the Agenda 2063 vision, as well as the objectives of the Continental Free Trade Agreement, while harnessing Egyptian expertise in the areas of infrastructure, energy, communications, industrial transformation, and food security, with the participation of the private sector, and in constant consultation with brothers in African countries. This is in addition to working to mobilize financial resources for the Continent’s priority areas by adopting AUDA-NEPAD’s proposal to launch the Africa Team Resource Mobilization Campaign initiative”
- H.E. Dr Mostafa Madbouly Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt during 2023 BRICS Summit.
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GUEST BLOG: Labour migration can aid development. When does it become brain drain?
By Msingathi Sipuka
In Africa, where development is unequal and some regions face growing conflict, highly skilled labour is likely to migrate. This will be a plus for receiving countries, contributing to their skills base and driving development. The flip side will be the brain drain in the less developed regions, says Msingathi Sipuka.
Postcolonial Africa has consistently sought to define a path of development that will bring prosperity to the continent and improve living standards for its citizens.
Michigan State University Trains African delegates on Agricultural Biotechnology and Biosafety
According to experts, Africa is currently the only food-insecure continent and at the same time the continent that harnesses fewer technologies and innovations to improve its agriculture. In this regard, building the capacity of African stakeholders in agricultural innovations such as biotechnologies and other emerging gene technologies may help change the food and nutrition narrative in the continent..
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Artificial Intelligence Experts envision a transformative future for Africa
The recently concluded AU-AI Continental Strategy Finalisation Writing Workshop, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 7 – 11 August 2023, stands as a pivotal moment in the collective effort to reshape Africa’s trajectory through the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). During this workshop, organised by the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD and the African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET), we had the privilege of engaging with a diverse group of experts, each playing a crucial role in drafting the strategy that could redefine Africa’s socio-economic landscape through responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence.
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Accelerating the Great Green Wall Initiative in Southern Africa
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has taken significant strides towards the implementation of its Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) to combat desertification, climate change, and biodiversity loss in the region. The recent SADC GGWI Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building Workshop, held in Pretoria, South Africa from 2nd to 4th August 2022, brought together key regional and international partners, government representatives, and technical experts to strategise and accelerate progress.
The Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) is a flagship project of the African Union, aiming to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and create 10 million green jobs by 2030 across 11 countries in the Sahel region. Inspired by this success, SADC launched its own GGWI in 2016 to address environmental challenges in the region.
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