SA Calls for Bold Investment in African Health Manufacturing at BIO Africa-CPHIA 2025

Minister Nzimande’s address at BIO Africa-CPHIA 2025 is more than a policy speech—it is a strategic call to action for Africa to chart its own health-innovation and manufacturing future.

At the joint BIO Africa‑CPHIA Convention 2025 held at the Durban International Convention Centre, the country’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, delivered a compelling keynote speech that underscored the urgent need for Africa to invest decisively in its scientific and manufacturing capabilities—particularly in the health-sector value chain—to reduce external dependence and build a resilient health future.

Self-Reliance & Health Security

Nzimande emphasised that the convention theme, “Moving Towards Self-Reliance to Achieve Universal Health Coverage and Health Security in Africa”, reflects a critical recognition: the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare how over-reliance on imported medical products left many African countries vulnerable. (Government of South Africa) He argued that African policymakers, scientists and industry leaders must treat self-reliance not as a slogan but as a strategic imperative: “We can’t be confident of a sustainable future for Africa if we don’t deliberately invest in the development of sovereign capabilities in all critical areas of human development, including health care.” (Government of South Africa)

Building Innovation Ecosystems & Manufacturing Capacity

According to the Minister, political leadership plays a decisive role in building robust innovation ecosystems and resilient manufacturing infrastructure. He noted that the South African government has placed science, technology and innovation (STI) at the heart of its development strategy through its STI Decadal Plan 2022‑2032, which identifies health innovation as a key priority alongside energy innovation. (Government of South Africa) Within this plan, major objectives include the building of domestic capabilities across the full health-value chain—from research discovery to local manufacturing of vaccines, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and diagnostics. (Government of South Africa) He further highlighted concrete institutional measures already undertaken: expansion of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap, strengthening of institutions like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), and partnerships such as those aimed at supporting mRNA-platforms through collaborations with the European Union and Germany’s GIZ. (Government of South Africa)

Continental Opportunities and Global Positioning

The Minister framed Africa’s opportunity in global context: with rising biotechnology innovation on the continent and the convergence of science, manufacturing and policy momentum, the time is ripe for Africa to become a global leader in health manufacturing and self-reliant health systems. The convention itself – jointly by Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the biotech stakeholder body AfricaBio – provides a platform to showcase home-grown innovations in health, agriculture and industry, and invite global investment and partnerships. (BIO Africa Con) Nzimande also noted that the continent has significant policy momentum: for example, the Africa CDC’s Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan, targeting a significant share of vaccine production within Africa by 2040, illustrates the scale of the ambition.

Why This Matters

1. Health Security: Local manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics and APIs reduces vulnerability to international supply-shocks and enhances capacity to respond to pandemics.

2. Economic Growth & Industrialisation: Developing manufacturing and research capabilities supports inclusive growth, job creation, and a shift from raw-materials export to value-added production.

3. Innovation Spill-over: Investments in health manufacturing and biotech have spill-over benefits for other sectors (e.g., advanced manufacturing, skills development, regulatory infrastructure).

4. Global Competitiveness: Africa’s growing innovation ecosystems position it to participate more robustly in the global biotechnology value-chain, not just as consumer but as producer and partner.

Challenges & What Needs to Be Done

While the vision is compelling, Nzimande’s remarks implicitly acknowledge the hurdles ahead:

• Infrastructure gaps: Significant investment is needed in manufacturing facilities, research labs, regulation and supply-chains.

• Skills & human capital: Strengthening local expertise in biotechnology, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and innovation management is critical.

• Financing: Innovative financing models will be needed to support domestic manufacturing and long-term research infrastructure.

• Policy and coordination: Alignment between governments, industry, research institutions and international partners is essential; fragmentation must be avoided.

• Market access and demand: Domestic manufacturing must be underpinned by sustainable demand for locally-produced health goods and effective procurement frameworks.

What’s Next

• The Decadal Plan’s implementation will accelerate: The Department of Science, Technology & Innovation (DSTI) will operationalise its priority programmes in health innovation and manufacturing.

• At the convention, delegates will engage across thematic tracks including local manufacturing, digital health/AI, climate/One-Health, and health financing. (BIO Africa Con)

• Stakeholders – governments, research bodies, private sector, investors – are encouraged to form partnerships, scale production platforms (especially mRNA) and support regulatory strengthening.

• South Africa (and Africa broadly) must leverage the momentum ahead of major global health gatherings (such as the upcoming G20 Health Ministers meeting) to ensure African-led health manufacturing and innovation gains traction on the global agenda. (Africa CDC)

Final Word

Minister Nzimande’s address at BIO Africa-CPHIA 2025 is more than a policy speech—it is a strategic call to action for Africa to chart its own health-innovation and manufacturing future. By linking science policy, innovation ecosystems and manufacturing ambition with health security and universal health coverage, the agenda moves from theory to practical imperative. For Africa to realise its promise of self-reliant health systems, the commitments made must translate into sustained investment, strong partnerships and scalable manufacturing capacity. The convention offers a launch-pad; now the work begins.