KIGALI, Rwanda – The African Medicines Agency (AMA) has signed a strategic partnership with Medicines for Africa (MFA) to strengthen the fight against substandard and falsified medical products, a growing public health threat that continues to endanger millions of patients across the continent.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in Kigali on Thursday, will enhance advocacy, public awareness and regulatory communication while supporting African countries to improve the detection and removal of unsafe medicines from the market.
The partnership brings together the African Union's continental medicines regulator and Medicines for Africa, an African-led patient safety organization, in a coordinated effort to strengthen medicine regulation and protect patients.
AMA Director-General Dr. Delese Mimi Darko said the collaboration will reinforce regulatory systems and improve public confidence in medicines across Africa.
"The African Medicines Agency was established to strengthen regulatory cooperation and improve access to safe, quality and efficacious medical products across Africa. Substandard and falsified medical products thrive on fragmented supply chains and regulatory oversight. By strengthening continental coordination and regulatory harmonisation, and combining this with targeted public engagement, we will ensure regulatory excellence translates into safer outcomes for patients and stronger public confidence in medical products," she said.
The partnership comes against the backdrop of a growing challenge posed by counterfeit and poor-quality medicines. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in every 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries fails quality standards, exposing millions of patients to ineffective or potentially dangerous treatment.
Health experts say fragmented supply chains and weak regulatory oversight continue to provide opportunities for substandard and falsified medicines to enter African markets, undermining treatment outcomes and eroding trust in health systems.
Medicines for Africa Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Lenias Hwenda said the agreement places patient safety at the centre of Africa's medicines agenda.
"This partnership reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that we put patient safety at the centre of Africa's medicines agenda. Together with the African Medicines Agency, we will undertake joint communication and advocacy programmes that will help combat the circulation of substandard and falsified medical products in Africa," he said.
Under the agreement, AMA will leverage Medicines for Africa's expertise in advocacy and communications to support National Regulatory Authorities across the continent in strengthening public awareness campaigns and coordinated action against unsafe medicines.
The organizations also announced that they will jointly host the Africa Patient Safety Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, from September 16–17, 2026. The summit will bring together governments, medicines regulators, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, researchers, innovators and development partners to develop a coordinated continental response to patient safety challenges, with a particular focus on combating substandard and falsified medical products.
Headquartered in Kigali, the African Medicines Agency is a specialized agency of the African Union mandated to harmonize medicines regulation and improve access to safe, quality and effective medical products across Africa. Medicines for Africa, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, is an African-led organization dedicated to promoting patient safety and strengthening action against unsafe medicines across the continent.
