International conference on local pharmaceutical production co-hosted by GIZ, UNCTAD and UNIDO

CAPE TOWN, 4-6 April 2011 – A three-day “International Conference on Local Pharmaceutical Production (LPP) in Africa”, jointly hosted by UNIDO, UNCTAD and German Development Corporation (BMZ/GIZ) in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4-6 April 2011 reviewed the progress and lessons learnt during the implementation of a number of development cooperation projects geared at fostering LPP in recent years.

The conference gathered some 140 participants from 24 countries, representing governments (public health and industry/trade portfolios), medicines regulatory authorities, pharmaceutical manufacturers, civil society and others. While the complexity of the challenges to be met towards the accelerated growth of a commercially viable pharmaceuticals industry that contributes quality medicines to the ailing population on the continent was not denied, the meeting identified numerous promising avenues to further speed up progress on the ground. “Stimulating LPP has been increasingly mainstreamed of late as one way of tackling the access-to-drugs challenge”, the conference concluded. Additional efforts “to move from talk to action” were unanimously called for by participants.
 
As health is a very important prerequisite to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), further developing local manufacturing has the potential to positively impact the health outcomes in developing countries, as well as add to economic growth.

For more information please contact:

Juergen Reinhardt
UNIDO Project Manager
Phone: +43-1-26026-3405
E-mail: J.Reinhardt@unido.org