PS Oluga urges stronger African health systems and local manufacturing at AU
Key points
- PS Dr Ouma Oluga called for bold continental action to strengthen African health systems at an AU platform.
- He linked health sovereignty to faster local manufacturing of medicines and related products.
- Import dependence leaves African states vulnerable when global supply chains seize up.
Pandemics taught Africa a brutal logistics lesson. KBC reports that Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr Ouma Oluga urged stronger African health systems, health sovereignty and accelerated local manufacturing at an AU meeting — a message that matches continental data showing heavy reliance on imported medicines and vaccines.
Sovereignty here means regulatory capacity, pooled procurement where sensible, and factories that can scale PPE, therapeutics and eventually vaccines. Kenya’s pharma ambitions and Kenya–Ghana style partnerships fit that frame only if power tariffs, quality control and skills pipelines keep pace.
From speech to plant
AU resolutions without bankable offtake agreements strand equipment. Domestic demand guarantees, WHO-prequalification pathways, and regional market access matter more than another communiqué.
Primary care and health worker welfare remain the foundation: factories cannot staff empty clinics.
Kenya angle
SHA financing integrity, county facility readiness, and tech transfer deals will show whether Nairobi walks Oluga’s talk.
Health contacts: directory.
Based on KBC reporting of PS Oluga’s AU remarks.