Nigeria, Oct. 31 -- Africa's heavy dependence on imported medicines has raised concerns over the continent's capacity to achieve pharmaceutical independence, with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) calling for urgent regulatory reforms to strengthen local drug manufacturing.

The organisation urged African governments to accelerate the ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty and adopt harmonised regulatory standards to ease the movement of locally manufactured medicines across the continent.

The call was made during the inaugural African Medicines Agency Week held in Kigali, Rwanda, from October 25 to 30, 2026.

AHF noted that although Africa's pharmaceutical market was valued at about 30 billion dollars, between 70 ...