AFRICA’S ambitious journey toward health sovereignty reaches a critical milestone as the continent’s regulatory brain trust convenes in Mombasa for the Seventh Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA VII), November 11-13.
The high-stakes gathering brings together more than 300 policymakers, regulators, researchers, and industry leaders to forge the regulatory framework that will enable Africa to produce the majority of its own medicines, vaccines, and medical devices – a transformation deemed essential for the continent’s health security and economic independence.
Under the theme “Regulatory Harmonisation – Unlocking Africa’s Potential in Health Product Manufacturing and Trade,” the conference represents a collective commitment to building Africa’s pharmaceutical sovereignty, stimulating local production, and supporting intra-African trade in medical products.
“SCoMRA is more than a conference because it is a collective commitment to Africa’s health independence,” said Dr Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD, one of the key convening organisations alongside the World Health Organisation, the African Union Commission, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation initiative.
The opening ceremony at PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort & Spa will be officiated by Aden Duale, Cabinet Secretary for Health of Kenya, with keynote addresses from several continental leaders, including Dr Bekele-Thomas, Dr Delanyo Dovlo, Director General of the African Medicines Agency, and Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control.
Also addressing the gathering will be Ambassador Amna Twum-Amoah, Commissioner for Health, African Union Commission, and Professor Mohamed Jama Ismail, Regional Director for the WHO Regional Office for Africa. The session will be moderated by Symeire Grey-Johnson, Director for Human Capital and Institutional Development at AUDA-NEPAD, with participation from Dr Abdulwahid Sherif, Governor of Mombasa County.
Building Blocks for Africa’s Renaissance
The conference comes at a pivotal moment for Africa’s pharmaceutical sector. Currently, the continent imports approximately 70-90% of its medicines despite bearing 25% of the global disease burden. This dependency was starkly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic when supply chain disruptions left many African nations struggling to access essential medicines and vaccines.
The gathering will redefine priorities for the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation Initiative, which serves as the foundation for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency – a specialised agency aimed at harmonising medical product regulation across the continent.
With 29 African Union member states having now ratified the AMA Treaty as of late 2024, and Ghana’s Dr Delese Mimi Darko appointed as the agency’s inaugural Director-General, the momentum for continental regulatory convergence is building. The agency, headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda, officially launched earlier this year following the treaty’s entry into force in November 2021.
“The establishment of AMA and regulatory harmonisation promotes faster introduction of new and advanced medical products into the market, hence quicker access by patients at a lower cost,” regulatory experts have noted, emphasising the direct benefits for African populations.
Platform for Progress and Solutions
SCoMRA provides a crucial platform for stakeholders to share experiences in regulatory science, reflect on progress in strengthening and harmonising regulatory systems, and set evidence-based priorities for the continent’s regulatory future.
The conference will facilitate knowledge exchange on best practices for managing future health emergencies, building on lessons learned from COVID-19. Participants will include representatives from national ministries of health, finance, trade and industry, National Medicines Regulatory Authorities across Africa and globally, researchers, academia, ethics committees, health product manufacturers, clinical research organisations, civil society, media representatives, African Union agencies, Regional Economic Communities, UN agencies, and development partners.
The biennial conference builds on the outcomes of six previous gatherings, progressively advancing Africa’s regulatory capacity and coordination. This year’s focus on manufacturing and trade directly supports the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa and aligns with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area, positioning regulatory harmonisation as a catalyst for economic integration and industrial development.
Stakes for a Continent
The success of this regulatory harmonisation effort carries profound implications for Africa’s 1.4 billion people. Beyond health security, a robust continental regulatory framework promises to protect African markets from substandard and falsified products, stimulate local pharmaceutical manufacturing, create quality jobs, retain capital within the continent, and position Africa as a competitive player in the global pharmaceutical industry.
For a continent whose pharmaceutical market is projected to reach $65 billion by 2030, the building blocks being laid in Mombasa this week could determine whether Africa remains dependent on imports or emerges as a hub of pharmaceutical innovation and production.
The conference represents a defining moment in Africa’s quest for self-sufficiency – a journey whose destination, if realised, will fundamentally transform the continent’s capacity to safeguard the health of its people while driving sustainable economic development.
As delegates gather on Kenya’s coast, the message is clear: Africa’s pharmaceutical renaissance is not a distant aspiration but an achievable goal requiring coordinated regulatory action, political will, and collective commitment to continental health sovereignty.
- The Seventh Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa runs November 11-13, 2025, at PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort & Spa, Mombasa, Kenya.
