A Kenyan Pharmaceutical company has received approval from the World Health Organization to make a special medicine that saves lives from malaria.
More than 70% of drugs used in Africa are imported.
Universal Corporation Limited got the approval to manufacture the drugs, according to the Guardian Media.
The antimalarial drug, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine is frequently used to prevent seasonal malaria in children.
This is done during the months of peak transmission periods such as rainy seasons.
“This WHO pre-qualification is a significant step toward reducing the over-reliance on imported drugs and strengthening Africa’s self-sufficiency in providing essential healthcare solutions,” managing director Perviz Dhanani said as quoted by the Guardian.
Some of the barriers to quality local production of drugs include high operation costs, inadequate technical expertise, lack of investment in the pharmaceutical industry, and drug regulation and quality issues.
Falsified or substandard antimalarials are estimated to cause up to 116,000 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa every year.
When a company gets approval from WHO, it means that their way of making medicine and making sure it's good quality meets the high standards that are used all around the world.
This makes it simpler for the company to sell their medicine in new places and to get support from big organizations that buy a lot of these treatments, especially ones that are funded by generous donors.
