With an average annual growth rate of 10.9 percent, Ethiopia currently boasts one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

1. Ethiopia Releases
National Plan for
Pharmaceutical
Sector
Development
By Ehsan Bayat

2. With an average annual growth rate of 10.9
percent, Ethiopia currently boasts one of
the world’s fastest-growing economies.

3. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Development
Its leaders hope to achieve middle-income country
status by 2025, and Ernst & Young has predicted that
it will become the third-largest economy in sub-
Saharan Africa within the next decade.
However, Ethiopia’s pharmaceutical manufacturing
industry has not maintained this level of growth, due
to obstacles in areas such as investment, production
capacity, human resources, and technology.
The nation attributes this stunted growth in part to the
lack of a long-term vision for the industry’s
development.

4. Thus, in July 2015,
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health
and Ministry of Industry
unveiled the National
Strategy and Plan of Action
for Pharmaceutical
Manufacturing Development
in Ethiopia.

5. Strategic Objectives
Outlining plans on a timeline from 2015 to
2025, the initiative provides a framework to
align Ethiopia’s pharmaceutical sector with
the rest of the rapidly growing nation.
The plan applies a value-chain approach to
present seven strategic objectives, which
aim to create a knowledge economy that
will spur ongoing development in the
sector.

6. Objectives 1 and 2
The first objective of Ethiopia’s national plan
for pharmaceutical development involves
implementing a good manufacturing
practice roadmap to ensure ongoing,
universal access to comprehensive health
services.
The initiative also requires bolstering
Ethiopia’s pharmaceutical regulatory
system.

7. Objectives 3 and 4
The country will introduce a number of
incentives aimed at helping firms progress
along the value chain, including cost-saving
systems to pool the purchase of raw
materials and grants for new technology.
The government will also provide grants that
pursue its strategic objective of assisting
with human resource development through
job training and academic program
creation.

8. Objectives 5, 6 and 7
In addition, Ethiopia will encourage pharmaceutical
manufacturers to consolidate the production of active
ingredients, and will strive to create a robust research
platform that both develops and attracts
pharmaceutical experts.
The government will also seek to establish national
centers of science and technology.
With these strategic goals, Ethiopia hopes to fulfill its
ultimate objective of attracting investment from
international pharmaceutical companies, which will
help country’s pharmaceutical sector become
competitive on a global scale.