Make Africa a Global Pharmaceutical Hub: Algeria’s Call for Continental Coordination
✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers – November 2025 – In an appeal that reframes pharmaceutical production as a matter of strategic sovereignty, Minister of Health Mohamed Seddik Ait Messaoudene urged African states to coordinate closely to transform the continent into a global pharmaceutical hub. Speaking at the opening of the African Ministerial Conference on Local Production of Medicines and Health Technologies (27–29 November), convened under the high patronage of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and inaugurated by Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb, Ait Messaoudene delivered a programmatic manifesto for a new industrial and health posture for Africa.
Addressing ministers, senior officials and industry and health representatives from more than fifteen countries, as well as members of the African diplomatic corps accredited to Algeria, the minister said that pharmaceutical sovereignty is not a distant aspiration but an achievable priority. He argued that Africa already possesses the human capital, scientific capacity and economic potential to build a resilient, continent-scale pharmaceutical industry — provided that states abandon fragmentation in favour of “close coordination,” revitalised regional cooperation mechanisms and the creation of production centres of continental scale.
Ait Messaoudene framed the shift toward local production as a corrective imposed by recent global shocks. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of supply chains and the peril of overdependence on imports. In this context, national pharmaceutical production ceases to be a mere industrial option and becomes a pillar of health security, economic development and social stability. Strengthened local capacities, he insisted, will guarantee access to essential medicines, reduce supply disruptions and curb the scourge of counterfeit products.
The minister set out a compact of concrete institutional reforms and industrial priorities. He called for a modern, coherent regulatory framework aligned with international norms; accelerated regulatory harmonisation across Africa; simplified registration procedures for medicines; and capacity building for national medicines agencies — all underpinned by an uncompromising emphasis on quality. Equally important, he advocated for deep industrial partnerships rooted in research, innovation, biotechnology and digital health technologies, the promotion of public–private partnerships, and the establishment of specialised pharmaceutical industrial zones that protect strategic national interests while attracting investment.
Central to Ait Messaoudene’s blueprint is human capital. No industry can flourish without qualified personnel, he argued, and therefore training and professional qualification must be treated as strategic investments. Strengthening the skills pipeline, from technical production to regulatory science and research, will be essential both to ensure product quality and to mobilise the foreign and domestic investment necessary to scale production.
The minister also emphasised the role of regional and financial partners in supporting the industrial transition. Mobilising technical and financial cooperation, leveraging continental institutions and participating in shared initiatives will be indispensable to accelerate industrialisation and to anchor the concept of health sovereignty in durable institutions and shared infrastructure.
Algeria’s commitment, Ait Messaoudene reiterated, is tangible: to bolster national capacities, share expertise and actively participate in regional initiatives that aim to make Africa more autonomous, more innovative and more resilient. If implemented, this agenda promises to reduce Africa’s vulnerability to external supply shocks while creating economic opportunities, securing public health and asserting strategic autonomy.
The conference, convened at a critical historical juncture, issues a clear policy imperative: the era of passive dependence must yield to proactive industrialisation. For African states, the choice is existential — either continue to submit public health to external fragility, or seize the moment to build a continentally integrated pharmaceutical ecosystem capable of serving African needs and competing on the global stage.
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