A recent visit by the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Assessment team could unlock the door for Zimbabwe to host the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Headquarters.
By Michael Gwarisa
The AMA Assessment team visited Zimbabwe in April, 2022 as a follow-up to the submission of Zimbabwe’s bid to host the AMA Headquarters that was made in July 2021.
Briefing Journalists during a Post Cabinet Meeting, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said the Assessment Team sought to evaluate Zimbabwe’s bid to host the AMA Headquarters as well as to inspect the relevant facilities.
Cabinet was briefed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Honourable Dr. Fredrick Makamure Shava, on the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Assessment Team Visit held from 19 to 23 April, 2022. Cabinet adopted the Report.
“The nation is informed that the Assessment Team sought to evaluate Zimbabwe’s bid to host the AMA Headquarters as well as to inspect the relevant facilities. The AMA delegation was led by Professor Aggrey John Douglas Ambali, from the African Union Development Agency (AUDA), while the Zimbabwean team was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Zimbabwe had submitted its bid to host the AMA Headquarters in July 2021,” said Senator Mutsvangwa.
She added that the team embarked on verification visits of all sites being offered by Zimbabwe in its bid to host the Headquarters.
The sites visited were as follows: Celestial Office Part to host the AMA Secretariat offices and laboratory; Mount Hampden for the construction of the permanent AMA Secretariat and laboratory; Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals for the AMA Team to appreciate the facilities of a public referral hospital; the proposed residence of the AMA Director-General at Borrowdale Brooke; Hotel facilities to determine their suitability and availability of the such facilities; the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) to evaluate conferencing facilities; Borrowdale Police and Greendale Fire Brigade; and Robert Gabirel Mugabe International Airport to assess the Aviation Ground Services (AGS) and the CEVA Logistics cold chain supply facilities.
After signing the treaty for the establishment of the AMA agency in March 2012 at the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe became the nineteenth (19th) African Union (AU) Member State to sign the Treaty for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA).
AMA will among other functions designate, promote, strengthen, coordinate and monitor Regional Centres of Regulatory Excellence (RCOREs) with a view to developing the capacity of medical products regulatory professionals. The agency will also coordinate and collaborate, where required and on a regular basis, the inspection of drug manufacturing sites, including the regulatory oversight and safety monitoring of medical products, as determined by State Parties and/or the AMA, and make reports available to State Parties. AMA will also promote cooperation, partnership and recognition of regulatory decisions, in support of regional structures and National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs), that takes into account mobilization of financial and technical resources to ensure sustainability of the AMA.
The African Medicine Agency, will enter into force once ratified by fifteen African Union member states. To date, the instruments of ratification have been deposited by six member states at the Commission.
The African Union (AU) executive council in 2019 resolved to establish AMA as a specialized agency with its own rules, membership and resources in order to improve access to quality, safe and efficacious medical products on the continent. Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any Convention, Treaty or Agreement acceded to, shall be subject to approval by Parliament.
