Mozambique: Government wants 30% cut in foreign medicine dependence by 2030

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Mozambique: Government wants 30% cut in foreign medicine dependence by 2030

2:07 CAT | 31 Jul 2025

Illustrative image via Belia Muchanga on Facebook

The Mozambican government aims to reduce its dependence on foreign medicines by 30% by 2030, allocating 1% of its annual health budget to promote scientific research and encourage local pharmaceutical production.

“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 our dependence on foreign medicines by at least 30%. We currently have a 90% dependence, and we want to reduce it by 30% by 2030,” said Ivan Manhiça, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health (MISAU).

Manhiça was speaking in Maputo this Thursday during the international conference on local production of medicines and health products, which concludes today as part of the Mozambique International Health Expo (MIH Expo-24), organized by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (Anarme).

Manhiça admitted that the government’s ambition to reduce external dependence by 30% will “require additional funding” given the limited resources, including those allocated annually to the health sector within 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 bring local solutions,” which includes advancing the search for financing and partnerships with the private sector, including strengthening ties with various drug regulatory authorities to seek expertise in drug management and control, Manhiça explained.

“We expect that with these measures, we will in the medium term achieve greater pharmaceutical autonomy in our country, a significant reduction in external dependence, and that we will be able to increase our capacity to absorb local production, generating more jobs, training our workforce, and expanding our infrastructure,” he said.

Mozambique wants to move forward with a plan to ensure the sustainability of local medicine production and prevent stock-outs, especially during 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, and that’s why we see the issue of importing more medicines as a risk,” Manhiça admitted.

The Mozambican president had previously observed that 90% of medical products consumed in Africa are produced on other continents, calling for concrete actions to end this dependence.

“This extreme dependence places our health systems in a vulnerable position, exposed to international market fluctuations, logistical delays, geopolitical crises, and budgetary constraints,” Daniel Chapo warned.

Ahead of the event, the president had stated that the Mozambican government was working with national and foreign investors and researchers to ensure local medicine production and reduce external dependence.

MIH Expo-24, according to its promoters, “is a comprehensive platform to showcase a unified international effort to strengthen health systems against climate-related risks, while also promoting initiatives that propel the sector toward net-zero environmental impact”.

The event, which concludes this Thursday, brought together key international stakeholders from the sector, policymakers, professionals, and innovators in Maputo to facilitate knowledge exchange, share best practices, and showcase cutting-edge innovation in the region.

Source: Lusa