Local pharmaceutical production in East Africa: South-South production networks and the state

In response to a dependence on imports, as well as concerns over the quality and longer-term fragility of supply of imported medicines, enhancing the local production of pharmaceuticals is now a key focus of policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In response to a dependence on imports, as well as concerns over the quality and longer-term fragility of supply of imported medicines, enhancing the local production of pharmaceuticals is now a key focus of policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This project seeks to understand the challenges facing local pharmaceutical firms in the context of “South-South” competition from, and collaboration with, Indian imports, as well as the various industrial policy initiatives shaping the local industry. The project involves conducting fieldwork in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and India, including primary interviews with key stakeholders (local and foreign pharmaceutical firms, industry association groups and policymakers). The project builds on my earlier PhD research on the political economy of the development of the pharmaceutical industry within India.

This project was led by Dr Rory Horner. It was funded by a Regional Studies Association early career grant.

• Dr Rory Horner

Key academic publications

• Rory Horner, (forthcoming) ‘A new economic geography of trade and development? Governing South-South trade, value chains and production networks”, Territory, Politics, Governance,

Additional materials

Invited lecture at Queen Mary University of London as part of their Department of Geography seminar series, 2 February 2016.

• Win-win geographies of South-South trade? India’s pharmaceuticals and local production in Sub-Saharan Africa

Invited lecture at British Institute in Eastern Africa in Nairobi, 26 January 2016.

• Addressing health insecurity? Local pharmaceutical production in the East African Community

A blog post on the Development@Manchester blog.

• A new economic geography of trade and development?
  

This research has been featured on China’s state news agency Xinhua

• Experts decry Africa's high dependence on imported medicines