Barring pharmaceutical imports will not heal Africa’s economy
Focus on local manufacturing means reduced innovation and less access for the sick
The influential market research firm Frost & Sullivan recently released a report estimating that the African pharmaceutical market would grow to $40bn per year. The African Development Bank echoed this by noting that "Africa’s pharmaceutical industry is the fastest-growing in the world". In an oft-cited 2012 report, the McKinsey Institute predicted that the African pharmaceutical market would be worth $45bn-$60bn by 2020. This growth is evidence of Africa’s success in human development. The good news: Africa’s people are living longer. Yes, the continent of vicious disease, war, corruption and famine has been experiencing an overall increase in life expectancy. Between 2000 and 2015, Africa experienced steady economic growth, a concomitant increase in life expectancy and decrease in infant mortality. This is significant as it has been occurring since shortly after the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1990s and the Ebola outbreak five years ago. The bad news, however, is that while people ar...
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