{"id":44850,"date":"2021-11-20T08:17:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-20T08:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/investors-urged-to-contribute-to-the-progress-of-africa-s-health-sector\/"},"modified":"2021-11-30T06:16:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T06:16:12","slug":"investors-urged-to-contribute-to-the-progress-of-africa-s-health-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/investors-urged-to-contribute-to-the-progress-of-africa-s-health-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Investors urged to contribute to the progress of Africa\u2019s health sector"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although pharmaceutical products are currently manufactured in countries like South Africa, Kenya, Morocco and Egypt, Africa currently imports more than 80 per cent of its pharmaceutical and medical consumables.<\/p>\n<p>The shortage stalls the continent\u2019s health sector yet there are untapped investment opportunities to streamline its efficiency while generating huge returns.  <\/p>\n<p>Today, Africa registers 375 plants manufacturing pharmaceutical products and vaccines for its 1.2 billion population. The World Bank\u2019s report shows that the continent\u2019s health sector needs an investment between US$ 25 to 30 billion to make health services more accessible.  <\/p>\n<p>As he attended Rwanda Global Health Summit 2021, the Resident Representative of Belgian Development Agency, Enabel in Rwanda, Dirk Deprez has emphasized that investing in Africa\u2019s health sector is a profitable business that also contributes to the wellbeing of Africans.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cResearch carried out by World Health Organization shows that 99% of vaccines used in Africa are imported. Besides, the continent also imports 94% of pharmaceuticals,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe continent\u2019s pharmaceuticals\u2019 market share is valued at US$28.5 billion expected to double in 2030.  Investors should seize this opportunity in the areas of drugs and vaccine manufacturing. Governments, partners and financial institutions remain committed to support them,\u201d added Deprez.  <\/p>\n<p>Dr Dhiren Thakker, the founder of Med Aditus International, a nonprofit corporation that aspires to be a positive force in creating access to medicine for underserved patients in Sub-Saharan Africa stressed that increasing drugs manufacturing plants is the only solution to tackle shortages and become self-reliant instead of sticking to foreign aids and imports.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter realizing how Africans struggle to access health services, I wanted to make an impact and abandoned my job in 2019 to create a non-profit organization with a view to address the shortage of drugs in Africa. Today, we want to build pharmaceutical plants. Preparations are underway and we are considering Rwanda and Kenya as the first countries where our operations will begin,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n<p>Dr. Thakker also revealed that they mull introducing advanced technology in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and expressed optimism that it will create new jobs. <\/p>\n<p>The Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana has said prioritizing investment in health sector is among lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would request the Ministry of Finance or other financial institutions to provide funding to buy drugs or build a laboratory.  The proposal would be okayed but told that building roads and schools would come first. Building schools is a good idea but the health sector should be given priority because it affects different aspects of life when things go wrong,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n<p>Health experts attending Rwanda Global Health Summit have also called for collaboration between different stakeholders for the continent to bridge the gap in health services.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-40137 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/ni_inama_ibaf4c5-bca45.jpg\" alt=\"The conference is an opportunity to discus how to address challenges affecting the health sector.  \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-40136 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/me.jpg\" alt=\"Investors have been urged to contribute to the progress of Africa\u2019s health sector.  \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-40139 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/dirk.jpg\" alt=\"The Resident Representative of Belgian Development Agency, Enabel in Rwanda, Dirk Deprez has emphasized that investing in Africa\u2019s health sector is a profitable business that also contributes to the wellbeing of Africans.  \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-40138 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/sabin-5.jpg\" alt=\"The Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana has said prioritizing investment in health sector is among lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic.  \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-40156 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/thankker.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Dhiren Thakker, the founder of Med Aditus International speaking to participants of Rwanda Global Health Summit 2021. \" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>{The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed Africa\u2019s inadequate capabilities and capacity to manufacture and supply essential drugs and vaccines.} <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[72,75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-44850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-featured-news-home","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44850\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44850"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=44850"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=44850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}