In a bid to curb Cameroon over depended
on imported pharmaceutical drugs, the Prime Minister and head of government
Philemon Yang on Wednesday inaugurated a drug manufacturing plant in Douala
called Africure Pharmaceuticals Cameroon.
The new drug production plant found in the Douala III
neighborhood of Yassa is the result of cooperation between India and Cameroon
whose dates back to 2013 were negotiations started during a trip by the
Cameroonian head of government to New Delhi.
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| PM Yang |
The new drug production unit will initially produce 1 billion
generic and essential drugs as well as broad-spectrum antibiotics as well as
retroviral antis annually.
With over 5 Billion FCFA invested into the project, hundreds of
direct and indirect jobs are estimated to be created which will go a long way
to reduce youthful unemployment that is perennial in Cameroon.
For Dr. Prosper Hiag of
Africure, the new plant is a boom for Cameroonian market, as it allows it to
reduce its imports of drugs by up to 60 percent. Africure's proponents
argue that it is a generic drug manufacturing unit, an essential drug that
Cameroon needs to provide basic coverage.
It should be noted that,
according to official figures, the State spends approximately 10 billion FCFA
each year for the importation of medicines. According to concordant
sources, 98% of medicines present in Cameroonian soil are legally
imported.
Which means that 2% of these
potentially dangerous drugs circulate in our country because they come from the
dark ways.
There is every reason to hope
that Africure will participate in reducing this capital flight and the
quantities of imported medicines.
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