The World Bank, through a study conducted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), revealed that Mozambican factories producing medicines and other hospital supplies manufacture around one billion tablets annually, highlighting that demand for health products in the country is expected to increase significantly by 2038.
According to the document cited by Lusa, the entity explains that the Pharmaceutical Industry and National Medicine Factory (INFARMA) employs 300 people, and the country has already established production capacity for various pharmaceutical products, including oral solids, medical gases, medical devices, disinfectants, and antiseptics.
“Although Mozambique’s pharmaceutical industry is still in its early stages, the country has the potential to expand its local capacity to include vaccine production and other supporting products. It is essential to boost domestic demand and create export opportunities by leveraging ongoing regional integration efforts,” the study argues.
The report indicates that the local manufacturing sector requires more skilled labor and emphasizes that “instability in energy supply and poor water quality are challenges for pharmaceutical production.”
According to the study, demand for health products in Mozambique will reach high levels by 2038 due to population growth. It recommends “strengthening quality control laboratories to test various products and ensure the circulation of health products of acceptable quality in the country.”
“Legal reforms in the health sector must be implemented, the development of quality industrial infrastructure for pharmaceutical products must be promoted, investment in strong transport and logistics networks is needed, specific incentives for local production should be developed, credit lines should be provided to support operations, and talent should be trained and attracted to the industry,” it emphasized.
Recently, the government announced that, in the coming years, it will allocate 1% of the health sector budget to promote scientific research and encourage local drug production, aiming to reduce external dependency on medicines by 30% by 2030.
“We intend to continue working to ensure local production of medicines and reduce dependency by 30% by 2030. At present, 90% of all medicines and health products in our country are imported, and we need to reverse this scenario,” explained Ivan Manhiça, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health (MISAU).
Quoted by Lusa, the official acknowledged that achieving this goal will “require additional funding,” given the scarcity of resources, including those allocated annually to the health sector through the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE).
In May, the Minister of Health, Ussene Isse, revealed that in the first five months of this year, 9.4 billion meticais (USD 145.8 million) had been spent on purchasing medicines and hospital supplies, ensuring that there is sufficient stock until the end of the year.
“In the first five months of this year, we distributed medicines and supplies to treat the main diseases affecting our population, namely diarrheal diseases, respiratory illnesses, hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis, and malaria,” he highlighted.
Speaking in Parliament during a session of questions from MPs, the minister also admitted that there are still “challenges” in tackling the theft of medicines, but stated that so far this year, the “Ministry of Health has already dismissed five employees involved in the diversion of medicines.”
Source: Diário Económico
