Can Uganda break Africa’s dependence on imported medicines?

What the report says

The Observer reports that Uganda’s Dei BioPharma Ltd has been formally added as a registered supplier under the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM), a buying platform coordinated by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The company was notified of the decision in an August 28 notice from APPM director Dr Mariatou Tala Jallow, who said it had met the technical requirements to join the scheme.

The article frames the development as part of a broader push to reduce Africa’s reliance on imported medicines. It notes that fragmented national purchasing has long made it difficult for manufacturers to plan production at scale, while pooled procurement is intended to create larger, more stable demand across participating countries. The report says Africa CDC’s first tender under the mechanism, for essential reproductive, maternal and newborn health medicines, showed prices 30 to 90 per cent below member states’ benchmarks and aimed to improve supply security.

The piece also places the news in the context of major public health gaps, including sickle-cell disease and maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. It says Dei BioPharma has submitted 65 product applications to Uganda’s National Drug Authority, with 40 approved for manufacture and 14 approved for sale. Among its products are hydroxyurea and tranexamic acid tablets. The company, based in Matugga in Wakiso District and established in 2014, is presented as one example of the manufacturing capacity Africa would need to reach the African Union’s goal of sourcing 60% of health products domestically by 2040.