Medical products and health technologies form a key component of the health care system and efforts should be geared towards ensuring that they are accessible, safe, of good quality, efficacious and cost effective. A situation analysis carried out in all the EAC Partner States in 2015, brought to the fore the status of the pharmaceutical sector and challenges identified included limited regulatory capacity, human resource shortage, weak procurement and distribution and limited finances among others.
The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, Chapter 21, Article 118 (c), calls for EAC Partner States to develop “ a common drug policy which would include establishing quality control capacities and good procurement practices”, leading to the development of the EAC Medicines and Health Technologies Policy.
The goal of the EAC Medicines and Health Technologies Policy is to ensure an adequate and reliable supply of safe, cost-effective medicines and health technologies to all the people in the region and their rational use by prescribers, dispensers and consumers.
This Policy provides a guide to EAC Partner States, Private Sector Civil Society and Development Partners in priority settings and implementation. Therefore, the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health invites all Partner States and other stakeholders to join hands and support the implementation of the Policy.
