Delese Mimi Darko has been appointed as the inaugural director-general of the African Medicines Agency. She is currently the chief executive of Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority.
This is a long-awaited appointment to the new specialized health agency of the African Union that is tasked with improving regulatory harmonization of medicines across the continent, including in pharmaceutical manufacturing. A disjointed continental regulatory regime has made it difficult for local manufacturers to access broader markets.
The AU hopes that AMA will help the continent increase the quantity of quality drugs reaching patients across the continent and reduce dependency on imports. Currently, African nations import over 70% of pharmaceutical products.