The Republic of Guinea becomes the seventh (7th) Member State to deposit the instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA). The Republic of Guinea ratified the Treaty for the establishment of AMA on 21 April 2021 in Conakry, Guinea and deposited the instrument of accession, to the Commission of the African Union (AU) on 7 May 2021 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mme Cisse Mariam Mohamed Director, Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, received the instrument from the Guinea delegation.

AMA will be the second specialized continental health agency after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) that will enhance capacity of State Parties and AU recognized Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to regulate medical products in order to improve access to quality, safe and efficacious medical products on the continent.

AMA will also coordinate and strengthen ongoing initiatives on the harmonization of medical products regulation and enhance the competence of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) inspectors to do so. The agency will designate, promote, strengthen, coordinate and monitor Regional Centres of Regulatory Excellence (RCOREs) with a view to developing the capacity of medical products regulatory professionals.

Speaking during the official deposit of the instrument, the Ambassador of the Republic of Guinea to Ethiopia and the African Union H.E. Gaoussou Toure noted that Guinea was delighted to be part of AMA adding that they would advocate for the signing and ratification of the AMA Treaty among other member states in West Africa region.

In the face of a looming pandemic, the necessity of AMA has been amplified and particularly its function in coordinating joint reviews of applications for the conducting of clinical trials and providing technical support in quality control of drugs at the request of Member States which do not have the structures to carry out these examinations/controls/checks.

In addition, AMA will promote the adoption and harmonization of medical products regulatory policies and standards, as well as scientific guidelines, and coordinate existing regulatory harmonization efforts in the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Health Organizations (RHOs).

The Commission encourages all its Member States to sign and ratify the Treaty for the establishment of AMA in the interest of public health, safety and security. The Treaty is available for signature at the Headquarters of the Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The African Medicines Agency, will enter into force once ratified by fifteen African Union Member States.

Further information should be directed to:

• Office of the Legal Counsel of the African Union Commission
• Dr. Margaret Agama-Anyetei, Head of Division for Health, Nutrition and Population; Social Affairs Department; AU Commission; Tel: +251115162211; E-mail: Agama-AnyeteiM@africa-union.org