Introduction

Strengthening local pharmaceutical production, and in particular producing vaccines, are the projects launched by the government at the end of the Covid-19 crisis. Access to medicines and vaccines is a problem in Africa. This is due to the country’s dependence on imports. Senegal currently imports over 90% of its medicines and 99% of its vaccines. The country is therefore working to relaunch local production with a view to covering a third of its needs by 2030 and up to 50% of its needs by 2035. However, public and private sector players are encountering problems due to the lack of adequate institutional structures to develop the production of vaccines and pharmaceutical products. Nevertheless, Senegal has taken a major step forward and can now produce and sell medicines throughout the world.

How can Senegal produce medicines?

Senegal’s objective is to strengthen the institutional structures of public and private sector players in order to promote the production of vaccines and pharmaceutical products. The country of Teranga has set up a project to help the Senegalese government and the private sector develop the local pharmaceutical industry and support the manufacture of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products for the local and regional market. It is in this context that the Senegalese authorities have informed us that the efforts made by Senegal have produced satisfactory results. Following an assessment by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the country has now reached ‘maturity level 3’. In other words, it can now produce medicines and sell them throughout the world. The Minister of Health and Social Action, Dr Ibrahima Sy, recalled that Senegal, which was at maturity levels 1 and 2, was recently assessed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to move to what is known as maturity level 3.  As a result, the country’s authorities have warned that strict compliance with regulations, quality, drug safety and a viable business model are essential. 

Is pharmaceutical sovereignty a requirement for Senegal?

In 2023, the project put in place measures for good coordination, with support for the Minister of Health in putting in place the framework conditions and carrying out the reforms needed to revive the drugs and vaccines industry. Secondly, regulation was envisaged to support the efforts of the Senegalese Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency to achieve WHO level 3 maturity, which attests to the existence of a stable, functional and integrated regulatory system. In the production phase, the skills of the local pharmaceutical industry are being strengthened through the transfer of knowledge and technology, not to mention partnerships with European players such as pharmaceutical laboratories and training institutes. In this context, he emphasised that pharmaceutical sovereignty is one of the top priorities set by the President of the Republic, because ‘Senegal imports a huge amount of medicines, which are expensive and whose quality and safety we do not necessarily control. The Minister pointed out that this project is part of a policy to revive the pharmaceutical industry, which has led to the creation of the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.

Conclusion

The aim of setting up the agency is to work on all aspects of standardisation and the rules governing vaccine production. Local production will make it possible to reduce the need to import medicines, develop our pharmaceutical industry and extend the value chain, because the production of medicines involves the production of inputs, the production itself, and everything to do with storage, management and distribution.