AFRICA’S most influential voices in health regulation and public health have converged in Mombasa, Kenya, for the 7th Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA VII), signalling the continent’s bold ambition to transform its pharmaceutical manufacturing landscape and achieve regulatory independence.
The high-stakes summit, themed “Regulatory Harmonisation – Unlocking Africa’s Potential in Health Product Manufacturing and Trade,” has attracted a stellar lineup of continental and global leaders whose collective influence will shape Africa’s trajectory in health product regulation for decades to come.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale, will officiate the opening ceremony, bringing his distinguished government leadership and regional health security expertise to set the stage for what promises to be Africa’s most consequential regulatory science gathering of the year.
Trailblazers at the Helm
Leading the charge is Dr Nardos Bekele-Thomas, the visionary Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD and the first woman to helm the continental development agency. With over four decades of transformative leadership, Dr Bekele-Thomas is the architect driving Africa’s Agenda 2063 – the blueprint for a prosperous, self-reliant continent – with laser focus on regional integration and innovative health solutions.
Dr Delese Mimi Darko, the inaugural Director General of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), brings groundbreaking credentials as Ghana’s first female Food and Drugs Authority CEO. The renowned Ghanaian pharmacist has built her reputation advancing regulatory oversight and pharmaceutical innovation while strengthening access to quality medical products across the continent.
Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, commands the continent’s frontline defence against public health emergencies. The Congolese epidemiologist, with more than 25 years of battlefield experience, has pioneered governance reforms and innovative health security strategies that have positioned Africa CDC as a formidable force in global health.
Diplomatic heavyweight Amb. Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah, the newly appointed Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs & Social Development at the African Union Commission, brings a distinguished career representing Ghana at the African Union, United Nations, and across multiple African nations as Ambassador.
Prof Mohamed Janabi, appointed Regional Director for the WHO African Region in June 2025, arrives as a veteran Tanzanian cardiologist and public health strategist. Having led Tanzania’s largest public hospital and advised the President on health system reforms, Prof Janabi brings battle-tested expertise in advancing universal health coverage.
Local governance perspective comes from Dr Abdulswamad Sherif, the dynamic Governor of Mombasa County, Kenya, whose track record in Parliament and as chair of the Public Investments Committee has established him as a champion of accountability and grassroots development.
The powerhouse session will be expertly moderated by Mr Symerre Grey-Johnson, Director for Human Capital and Institutional Development at AUDA-NEPAD, a key architect in transforming the NEPAD programme into AUDA-NEPAD since 2014.
Global Expertise Converges
The summit’s five plenary sessions and fifteen technical panels will feature additional heavyweight contributors, including Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, CEO of South Africa’s SAHPRA, who steered her agency through the COVID-19 regulatory storm with innovation and global collaboration.
Dr Emer Cooke, Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency and the first woman to lead EMA, brings over 30 years of global regulatory science mastery, having previously directed WHO’s regulation and prequalification programs.
Technical firepower includes Mr Hiiti Sillo, WHO Senior Advisor and mastermind behind the East Africa Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation Programme; Dr Sarah Adam, IFPMA’s regulatory harmonisation expert with deep molecular biology credentials; and Dr Dan Hartman from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, whose integrated development strategies are reshaping drug and diagnostic pipelines globally.
Continental Game-Changer
The summit will culminate in the launch of the College for African Regulatory Science Professionals (CARSP) – a continent-wide initiative designed to build the human and institutional capacity that will power Africa’s regulatory independence and pharmaceutical sovereignty.
With this extraordinary assembly of expertise, SCoMRA VII represents more than a conference – it’s a declaration that Africa is ready to claim its seat at the global health regulation table, on its own terms.
The convergence of these luminaries underscores an unmistakable message: Africa’s pharmaceutical future will be written by Africans, for Africans.
