Maputo, July 31, 2025 (Lusa) - The Mozambican government plans to reduce its dependence on foreign medicines by 30% by 2030, allocating 1% of the health budget each year to promote scientific research and encourage local production of drugs, it was announced on Thursday.
“In order to guarantee local production, our country, in the medium term, therefore, by 2030, intends to continue working to ensure that we can reduce external dependence on medicines by at least 30%. At the moment we are 90% dependent and we want to reduce this by 30% by 2030,” said the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health (Misau), Ivan Manhiça.
He was speaking in Maputo during the international conference on local production of medicines and health products, which ends today, as part of the Mozambique International Health Expo (MIH Expo-24), organised by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (Anarme).
He acknowledged that the Mozambican government's ambition to reduce external dependence by 30% will “require additional funding” given the scarcity of resources, including those allocated annually to the health sector under the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE).
“We will allocate at least 1% of our health sector budget to scientific research so that we can come up with local solutions,” which include seeking funding, partnerships with the private sector, and strengthening ties with different drug regulatory authorities in search of experience in drug management and control, Ivan Manhiça explained.
“It is our expectation that with these measures we will, in the medium term, have more pharmaceutical autonomy in our country, a significant reduction in terms of external dependence, that we will be able to increase our capacity to absorb local production, generating more jobs and qualifying our workforce and expanding our infrastructure,” said Ivan Manhiça.
Mozambique wants to move forward with a plan to ensure the sustainability of local drug production and prevent stock shortages, especially in times of crisis, and to produce for export to regional markets.
“Today, around 90% of all medicines and health products in our country are imported. We need to reverse this situation, which is why we see importing large quantities of medicines as a risk,” said the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The Mozambican president had already stated that 90% of medical products consumed in Africa are produced on other continents, calling for concrete action to end this dependence.
“This extreme dependence puts our health systems in a vulnerable position, exposed to international market fluctuations, logistical delays, geopolitical crises and budgetary constraints,” he warned.
In anticipation of the event, the President had said that the Mozambican government is working with domestic and foreign investors and researchers to ensure local production of medicines, reducing external dependence.
According to the promoters, MIH Expo-24 "is a comprehensive platform to present a unified international effort to strengthen health systems against climate-related risks, while promoting initiatives that drive the sector towards zero net environmental impact".
The event, which ends today, brings together in Maputo key international stakeholders in the sector, policy makers, professionals and innovators with the aim of facilitating knowledge exchange, sharing best practices and showcasing cutting-edge innovation in the region.
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