By Ivyn Kipruto
Kenya will host the Seventh Biennial Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA VII) in November bringing together top regulators, policymakers, manufacturers, and researchers to advance Africa’s health product regulation agenda.
Organised by the Government of Kenya through the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), African Union Development Agency–NEPAD (AUDA–NEPAD), and the World Health Organization (WHO), the conference will be held under the theme: “Regulatory Harmonisation: Unlocking Africa’s Potential in Health Product Manufacturing and Trade.”
The high-level meeting seeks to review progress in aligning regulatory standards across Africa and to strengthen the continent’s capacity for local manufacturing and trade in quality-assured medical products under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
According to PPB Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ahmed I. Mohamed, SCoMRA VII will serve as a strategic platform for collaboration among regulators, academia, manufacturers, and development partners.
“SCoMRA VII provides a unique opportunity to strengthen collaboration among regulatory authorities, promote innovation, and shape a shared vision for the future of medical products regulation in Africa under the African Medicines Agency (AMA),” said Dr. Mohamed.
Since the launch of the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) initiative in 2009, Africa has made major strides in improving medical product oversight across regional economic blocs—culminating in the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), whose Treaty entered into force in 2021 and is now being operationalised in Kigali, Rwanda.
The three-day conference will feature plenary and parallel sessions on key topics such as harmonised regulatory oversight, pooled procurement, digitalisation and artificial intelligence in regulation, emergency preparedness, and greening Africa’s pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem.
Delegates will include representatives from National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs), AU agencies, Regional Economic Communities, academic institutions, civil society, the private sector, and international partners.
Conference outcomes are expected to inform strategic actions to boost local pharmaceutical production, foster innovation and digital transformation in regulatory systems, and promote sustainable collaboration across Africa’s health sectors.
