Accra, Ghana//-The second edition of African Healthcare Manufacturing Trade Exhibition and Conference (AHMTEC 2025) is underway at Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana, with a call on Africans to consume their own pharmaceutical products.
Opening the three-day event, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Policy Adviser for Political Affairs at the Office of the Vice President, in a speech read for the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang called on Africans to consume the pharmaceutical products produced on the continent.
She noted: “For too long, the health of our people has rested on foundations laid elsewhere. This dependence is not just an economic vulnerability; it is a moral shortcoming as the well-being of our citizens becomes subject to the influence of external entities and volatile markets”.
To this end, Prof Opoku-Agyemang said: “Here in Ghana, our government understands this urgency. We are resolute in our mission to drive access to affordable and quality medicines.
We are proud to host this conference, and we are equally proud of the leading Ghanaian manufacturers attending this event-partners who are integral to our national health agenda”.
The major event, which began on 7 to 9 October, is being hosted by the Federation of African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (FAPMA) and Vizuri Health Dynamics.
In parallel, AHMTEC 2025 hosts a trade exhibition, investor-readiness workshops, visits to Ghanaian manufacturing facilities, and networking opportunities.
This is how AHMTEC drives tangible deals and partnerships that accelerate manufacturing capacity, product development, and Africa’s long-term health future, the Council Chair of Vizuri Health Dynamics, Dr Mariatou Tala Jallow, said at the opening ceremony.
She added that AHMTEC isn’t about speeches but rather it is for manufacturers who are ready to grow their businesses.
“With Africa’s healthcare manufacturing at a crossroads, we either continue to wait for help or we actively build the systems ourselves, starting at AHMTEC.”
Emmanuel Mujuri, Chairman of FAPMA, revealed that African manufacturers currently supply less than 30% of the medicines consumed on the continent.
This is a life-threatening vulnerability, not just a market imbalance, he said.
Yet national health systems across the African continent are grappling with disrupted global supply chains, less donor support, and an overreliance on imported medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics, according to him.
For Ann-Marie Hosang-Archer, Vizuri Health Dynamics, Council Member, unlike traditional health sector conferences, AHMTEC has designed its agenda with and for African manufacturers.
“Every session and panel aim to deliver practical solutions for building competitive, financially viable manufacturing businesses and creating supportive policies, incentives, and investment”.
The conference, which attracted more than 200 delegates, 46 speakers, and representatives from 111 organisations across 26 countries, was used to launch AMMINA, the African Manufacturing Market Intelligence and Network Analysis (AMMINA), a ground-breaking data platform drawing from 700+ manufacturers and 2,500+ health products across 18 countries.
With an interactive, data-driven dashboard, AMMINA can provide real-time data on manufacturing capacity, products, and investment readiness.
It responds to a need long demanded by industry and partners. With AMMINA’s insights, decision-makers can better recognise opportunity and risk, inform policies, and mobilise greater investment across Africa’s manufacturing ecosystem.
The conference, themed ‘Collaborate to Compete: Strengthening Partnerships for Sustainable Growth’, convenes leading manufacturers and healthcare leaders.
These include numerous Ghanaian manufacturers and stakeholders, who are central to delivering on the Government of Ghana’s Agenda for Jobs and its strategic goal of becoming a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub for West Africa.