By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Rwanda ,July 16, 2026 - The African Medicines Agency (AMA) and Medicines for Africa (MFA) have signed a landmark partnership aimed at strengthening Africa's fight against substandard and falsified medicines, a growing public health threat that continues to endanger millions of patients and undermine confidence in healthcare systems across the continent.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in Kigali, Rwanda, will see the two organisations collaborate on advocacy, public awareness and communication initiatives while supporting National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to strengthen efforts against unsafe medical products.
The agreement comes as African countries intensify efforts to harmonise medicine regulation and improve access to safe, quality and effective healthcare products under the African Medicines Agency, the continent's newest medicines regulatory institution.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, African Medicines Agency Director-General Dr Delese Mimi Darko said stronger continental collaboration is essential to protect patients from dangerous medicines that exploit weaknesses in fragmented supply chains and regulatory systems.
"The African Medicines Agency was established to strengthen regulatory cooperation and improve access to safe, quality and efficacious medical products across Africa. Substandard and falsified medical products thrive on fragmented supply chains and regulatory oversight," she said.
Dr Darko noted that the partnership would combine AMA's regulatory mandate with Medicines for Africa's expertise in public engagement to improve patient safety across the continent.
"By strengthening continental coordination and regulatory harmonisation on substandard and falsified medical products, and combining this with the targeted public engagement that MFA leads, we will ensure that regulatory excellence translates into safer outcomes for patients and stronger public confidence in medical products," she added.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in every ten medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries fails quality standards, exposing millions of patients to ineffective or potentially dangerous medicines.
Health experts say the problem is particularly acute in Africa, where complex cross-border supply chains, weak regulatory oversight in some jurisdictions, counterfeit drug networks and limited public awareness have allowed falsified medicines to infiltrate legitimate pharmaceutical markets.
The consequences extend beyond treatment failure.
Substandard medicines contribute to antimicrobial resistance, prolonged illness, avoidable deaths and significant financial losses for households already struggling with healthcare costs. They also erode public confidence in national health systems and discourage patients from seeking medical care.
Recognising that no single institution can address the challenge alone, the two organisations say the new partnership is designed to strengthen collaboration between regulators, governments, healthcare providers and patients.
Medicines for Africa Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr Lenias Hwenda said the agreement places patient safety at the heart of Africa's pharmaceutical agenda.
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"This partnership reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that we put patient safety at the centre of Africa's medicines agenda. Together with the African Medicines Agency, we will undertake joint communication and advocacy programmes and initiatives that will help in combatting the circulation of substandard and falsified medical products in Africa," he said.
The collaboration also reflects Africa's growing determination to build stronger pharmaceutical regulatory systems as the continent expands local manufacturing of medicines, vaccines and other health products under the African Union's health security agenda.
The African Medicines Agency was established by the African Union to harmonise medicines regulation across member states, improve oversight of pharmaceuticals and facilitate faster access to quality-assured medical products. The agency is expected to reduce duplication in medicine registration while strengthening regulatory cooperation among African countries.
The partnership's first major undertaking will be the Africa Patient Safety Summit, scheduled for 16–17 September 2026 in Kigali.
The summit will bring together governments, national medicines regulators, healthcare institutions, pharmaceutical manufacturers, researchers, innovators and development partners to develop coordinated strategies for improving patient safety and eliminating substandard and falsified medical products from African markets.
Organisers say the forum will focus on strengthening regulatory systems, improving surveillance of medicine quality, enhancing public awareness and promoting greater collaboration among countries to prevent counterfeit medicines from crossing borders.
The agreement comes at a time when Africa is seeking to reduce its heavy dependence on imported pharmaceuticals while expanding local manufacturing under initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa.
Health experts argue that stronger regulation must accompany increased pharmaceutical production to ensure that locally manufactured and imported medicines meet internationally accepted quality, safety and efficacy standards.
For millions of Africans who rely on medicines to treat infectious diseases, chronic illnesses and other life-threatening conditions, the partnership signals a renewed continental commitment to ensuring that every patient has access not only to medicines, but to medicines that are safe, effective and of the highest quality.
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