CHALLENGE ACCEPTANCE
The pharmaceutical industry in Mozambique faces serious challenges in terms of procurement, distribution, and storage, which equate to abundant opportunities for investment.
According to the 2016 CIA World Factbook, the median age in Mozambique is 17, which provides an insight into the age distribution in a country that has one of the lowest median ages in the world. In addition, life expectancy at birth is only 52.94 years. Access to healthcare and pharmaceuticals is not the only factor impacting the life expectancy of a specific country, though it is an important indicator. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 30% of the world's population is estimated to lack access to essential drugs. The country's pharmaceutical industry has been on the road to improvement but still has essential progress to make, especially when taking in account that as of 2009, the Ministry of Health estimated that three in four Mozambicans still seek traditional medicine before visiting an institutionalized healthcare facilities.
According to WHO data on the pharmaceutical situation in the SADC, as of 2009 there was only one domestic manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in Mozambique and six multinational pharmaceutical companies with a local subsidiary. This is likely due to the fact that there were no import duties for finished pharmaceutical products but for raw materials used to manufacture pharmaceutical products. As of 2009, only 3.52% of the population was covered under National Health Insurance (NHI) or Social Health Insurance (SHI).
In developing countries, high priced pharmaceuticals are often the reason for a lack of access to products. However, according to Adelino Leite, the Administrator of Medis Farmacêutica, Lda., the seemingly high prices are due to unequal profit margins. He told TBY that importers receive only a small margin of the profits, usually close to 15%, while pharmacies gain some 60% of profits. Local margins play a greater role in determining prices for pharmaceuticals than the real manufacturing price.
In the past, the government issued a compulsory license to Medis Farmacêutica for certain antiretroviral drugs used in treating HIV patients. This allowed more patients to access the drugs needed for their treatment, and royalties paid by Medis Farmacêutica, Lda. did not exceed 2% of sales. The UN estimates that some 1.5 million people are infected living with AIDS in the country, with around 10.6% of those aged 15-49 infected.
While the government had in the past placed its main focus on primary care, public sector changes have allowed for more hospitals and more services to be available throughout the country.
The pharmaceutical industry still faces serious challenges, especially in terms of procurement, logistics, and storage. There is urgent need for this problem to be addressed by the government and the private sector in collaboration with NGOs and donors. To alleviate the challenges of storage in the north of the country, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently awarded a tender to South African company Resolve Capacity for the design and construction of a 3,000sqm regional warehouse for pharmaceutical products in Nampula, for a value of $7.6 million.
Increasing the median age and life expectancy in Mozambique is not only a desirable and fair outcome of improved access to healthcare and medicine, but, ultimately, the most efficient way for pharmaceuticals to secure future demand and expansion in the long term.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTANCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Review: Economy
Much to Gain
Despite numerous years of considerable economic growth, Mozambique has been unable to retain its wealth and bring more than half of its population out of poverty. Developing one of the world's largest gas reserves and becoming a regional exporter of energy may be the solution.
read articleFocus: Aluminum
Foil Plans
Mozambique is the second-largest producer of aluminum in Africa and the 14th in the world. Since 2000, it has been producing aluminum for export, and in 2015 Midal Cables opened a factory near Mozal; the country's largest aluminum smelter. This could be the start of a Mozambican aluminum value chain.
read articleInterview
Ben James, Managing Director, Baobab Resources
TBY talks to Ben James, Baobab's Managing Director, resident in Mozambique. A geologist by training, Ben has been directly involved with the development of the Company's Tete Project from a greenfields iron ore discovery to an asset on the verge of corner-stoning Mozambique's nascent steel industry.
read articleFocus: Aluminum
Aluminum Legacy
Mozambique is the second-largest producer of aluminum in Africa and the 14th in the world. Since 2000, it has been producing aluminum for export, and in 2015 Midal Cables opened a factory near Mozal; the country's largest aluminum smelter. This could be the start of a Mozambican aluminum value chain.
read articleInterview
Hon. Jorge Olívio Penicela Nhambiu, Minister, Science and Technology, Higher and Technical Vocational Education (MCTESTP)
TBY talks to Hon. Jorge Olívio Penicela Nhambiu, Minister of Science and Technology, Higher and Technical Vocational Education (MCTESTP), on bringing science and technology to rural areas and increasing research in the country.
read articleFocus: E-government + E-bau
Digital Decisions
Between 2015 and 2016, Mozambique fell five positions in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index. The government is investing in the GovNET and e-BAU platforms to facilitate procedures and cut the costs of acquiring business licenses and improving services provided to the public.
read articleReview: Health
Time for a check-up
Mozambique's healthcare budget rose to $561.5 million in 2015, an increase of 1.1% on expenditure in 2014, accounting for 10.2% of the state budget. Total healthcare expenditure in 2014 was $477.5 million. The Ministry for Health oversees the sector and is responsible for setting the budget each year.
read articleInterview
Dr. João M. Carvalho Fumane, Director General , Hospital Central de Maputo (HCM)
TBY talks to Dr. João M. Carvalho Fumane, Director General of Hospital Central de Maputo (HCM), about the range of services on offer and what is being done to further excellence in the health sector
read articleInterview
Hon. Jorge Ferrão, Minister, Education and Human Development
<span style="line-height: 1.6em; background-color: initial;">TBY talks to Hon. Jorge Ferrão, Minister of Education and Human Development, on the goals of the ministry, the role of local languages, and tackling teacher absenteeism.</span>
read articleInterview
Prof. Doctor João Leopoldo da Costa, Rector, Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM)
TBY talks to Prof. Doctor João Leopoldo da Costa, Rector of Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM), on the perils of the internet on education and the quality of its high school.
read articleReview: Tourism
Mozambeach
With white-sand beaches, scuba diving, and game reserves among its wide range of accommodation, Mozambique is a goldmine for tourism. However, to attract the number of tourists the country is aiming for, and entitled to, it will have to compete with its considerably more popular neighbors.
read articleReview: Legal
Smart Choices
Foreign investments are sources of capital, foreign exchange, and technical know-how for developing countries such as Mozambique. Over the past three decades, Mozambique has been successfully striving to ensure a favorable legal framework for foreign private investment.
read article