4th ANDI stakeholders meeting to announce the first pan-African centres of excellence in health innovation

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4th ANDI Stakeholders Meeting to announce the first pan-African Centres of Excellence in Health Innovation

ECA Press Release No. 129/2011

Addis Ababa, 24 October 2011 (ECA) - The African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI) is holding its fourth stakeholders meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 24th to 27th October.

The meeting will be attended by ministers of health; and ministers of science and technology from across Africa; and by scientists, researchers, drugs manufacturers and other stakeholders.

The meeting will announce the results of an 18 month process that led to the selection of ANDI Centres of Excellence in health innovation in Africa and discuss how the centres will support the discovery, development, manufacturing and registration of drugs, diagnostics, vaccines and medical devices in Africa.

Hon Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology of South Africa and co-Chair of the ANDI, said this is the first time that such a rigorous process of evaluating and identifying centres of excellence in health innovation is being undertaken on a pan- African basis. “Unveiling the ANDI centres of excellence during the 4th ANDI stakeholders meeting marks an important step to providing affordable medicines for all African”, the minister said.

Hon Beth Mugo, the Kenyan minister of public health and sanitation, added that the meeting will highlight some impressive research, development and manufacturing capacity in the African continent.

ANDI has made steady progress since the concept was launched at Abuja in October 2008. It is now widely recognized as a response to several global and regional calls for local investment and leadership of health R&D and access to products in support of poverty alleviation and economic development. A notable example is the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on public health, innovation and intellectual property (GSPoA), approved by the World Health Assembly, a key element of which is the formation of R&D networks in disease endemic countries operating under regional governance structures to provide a time- efficient, cost-effective and inclusive approach to achieving enhanced access to medicines.

ANDI’s goals are to increase research and development collaboration among African institutions and countries, including through the management of Centres of Excellence in health innovation; fund and manage a portfolio of health R&D projects;

support and promote public-private partnerships and new firms within Africa to support the development and manufacture of new drugs, diagnostics and other health products; manage and explore innovative mechanisms to encourage and reward local innovation while promoting access, including research drawing on traditional medicine and intellectual property management;

leverage existing capacity to support south-south and north-south collaboration; and promote long-term economic sustainability through supporting R&D and access to health products in Africa.

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Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Tel: 251 11 5445098 Fax: +251-11-551 03 65 E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org Web: www.uneca.org