Egypt's Foreign Minister participates in World Bank session on localizing pharmaceutical industries in Africa

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Migration, Badr Abdelatty, attended a World Bank event focused on innovative solutions for increasing medical product production and access. The session occurred during his participation in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. Minister Abdelatty praised the World Bank Group's response to African nations' calls for localizing essential health product manufacturing, specifically commending the African Medical Access and Manufacturing Initiative AIM2030 and its pilot implementation in nine African countries, including Egypt. He highlighted the initiative's role in enhancing health system effectiveness and resilience, given Africa's limited pharmaceutical production capacity. Key priorities he emphasized included localizing supply chains through investment in infrastructure and manufacturing, technology transfer, digitizing drug production permits, and harmonizing regulatory frameworks, including activating the African Medicines Agency. He also stressed the need for strengthening unified procurement mechanisms and mobilizing innovative financing for the health sector. Minister Abdelatty reviewed Egypt's national efforts, such as the "EDA PharmaLand" project to boost health sector exports by 2030, and the 2024 national strategy for localizing vaccine manufacturing. He also mentioned the "100 Million Healthy Lives" initiative and the importance of attracting