We’re firmly in the new year now, so it’s time for each of us to take stock of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. That goes double for the African Medicines Agency.
As the new organization tasked with improving the regulatory harmonization of medicines across the continent, AMA is expected to play many roles, including ensuring the quality of both imported and locally manufactured drugs.
But first it needs to appoint a director general, which might happen in the first quarter of 2023. That key appointment is expected to kickstart AMA’s work. The African Union has initiated the process of recruitment, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, the acting director of the Africa CDC, said in Kigali last month, and the post will be appointed by the AU Conference of State Parties of AMA upon recommendations of the governing board.