n July 16, 2022, the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) announced that Rwanda had been selected to host the first headquarters of the African Medicines Agency (AMA).

The AU approved the treaty for establishing the AMA in February 2019 after five years of consultations across the African continent led by a task force established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and AU Commission. The Agency was formally established after the minimum number of 15 ratifications by AU countries was reached in November 2021. In fact, as of May 2022, 31 of the 55 nations in the AU have signed/ratified the treaty (19 ratified and deposited + 3 ratified but not yet deposited + 9 signed but not ratified).

The AMA’s role is planned to include:

• Supporting growth of local pharmaceutical production
• Evaluating medical treatment of medical products to treat priority diseases (as determined by the African Union)
• Coordinating joint reviews and assessments of product dossiers and clinical trial applications for vaccines, biosimilars, and other complex products
• Developing common standards and regulations to harmonize legislation.

The AU Executive Council also granted the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the status of an autonomous health body.

Rwanda was reportedly one of eight nations which had submitted an expression of interest in hosting this headquarters, along with Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The AU Executive Council delivered these announcements from its meeting in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.