Lack of water and electricity in Angola holds back investments in pharmaceutical industries

Angola has registered about 200 requests for the creation of local pharmaceutical industries since 2016.

Still, the lack of basic conditions, such as water and electricity, hinder potential investors from investing in the sector, said today an official source.

According to Pombal Mayembe, a member of the Medicines Regulation Agency (Armed) of Angola, the 200 requests, which did not pass, have come since 2016, when the technical group for the evaluation and licensing of pharmaceutical factories was created.

“The water, electricity, these are difficulties that we can cite here in our country because the electricity supply is not, let’s say, continuous, and it is necessary to have an alternative source in case of breakdown of the electricity supply,” he said.

Water quality “is another problem; for example, for the manufacture of serums, it’s a big problem, our water needs to be treated, and a lot of money is spent so that we can find water with the quality for pharmaceutical preparations,” he acknowledged.

Speaking at the end of the presentation ceremony of the governing bodies of the National Pharmaceutical Industry Association of Angola (ANIFA), established today, Pombal Mayembe also admitted that the problem of funding is affecting the sector’s start-up.

The responsible gave examples of potential investors that had the wrong information and even requested financing from the Ministry of Health, something that “is not possible” because “the Ministry of Health is not a banking institution.

Pombal Mayembe, head of the support department to the office of the director general of Armed, was one of the speakers in the debate on “The role of the pharmaceutical industry in the development of the health sector in Angola,” which followed the presentation of the governing bodies of ANIFA.

All speakers converged on the need for the country to already have its pharmaceutical industry respond to the shortage of drugs and reduce prices internally.

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