Musa Bello, AMA Foundation chair, makes case for homegrown health security

Chairman of the AMA Foundation, Mr. Musa Bello has said that the future of Africa’s health security lies in local pharmaceutical manufacturing, not international aid. Speaking at a high-level stakeholder meeting on Thursday at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Bello made a compelling case for expanded investment in homegrown manufacturing, positioning Nigeria’s […]

Chairman of the AMA Foundation, Mr. Musa Bello has said that the future of Africa’s health security lies in local pharmaceutical manufacturing, not international aid.

Speaking at a high-level stakeholder meeting on Thursday at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Bello made a compelling case for expanded investment in homegrown manufacturing, positioning Nigeria’s AMA Medical Manufacturing Ltd (AMA-MED) as a model for the continent.

“AMA-MED addresses critical shortages of essential medical supplies in Nigerian hospitals,” he said. “It improves patient outcomes while demonstrating the viability of private sector leadership in pharmaceutical manufacturing across Africa.”

Bello said AMA-MED, located in Kaduna State, has already begun producing intravenous (IV) fluids at scale, using advanced Aseptic Form Fill Seal (AFFS) technology, with a production capacity of 36 million units annually across 13 formulations.

He added that the company’s work directly supports the Africa CDC’s goal of achieving 60% local production of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics by 2040, and aligns with the WHO African Regional Framework 2025-2035, which calls for stronger regional manufacturing systems.

“This is not just about IV fluids,” Bello noted. “We’re building a supply chain that supports antiretrovirals, anti-venoms, and diagnostic kits – all produced locally. Our pipeline includes antiretroviral drugs like Elpida for HIV treatment, anti-diphtheria and anti-tetanus biologics, and even critical snakebite antivenoms.”

AMA’s collaboration with Barbados and technology transfer assistance from Viriom Inc (USA) and MicroPharm (UK) reflects a shift toward South-South partnerships to counter the risks posed by multinational exits and dwindling donor programs. Bello highlighted the 2023 withdrawal of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from Nigeria and similar downsizing moves by other global pharma giants as wake-up calls.

“The exits of GSK and the cuts to USAID programs exposed the dangers of dependency.

“We must turn today’s disruptions into opportunities for self-reliance and continental leadership in health,” he said. 

He urged WHO to deepen technical support to AMA-MED through Prequalification mentorship, regulatory capacity-building, and inclusion in ECOWAS pooled procurement systems, adding that the company is prepared to serve broader West African and global markets.

“A WHO Director-General-led delegation to our facility in Kaduna would highlight the success of local manufacturing and demonstrate the organization’s commitment to African pharma development,” Bello proposed.

 

Partnership with Barbados

A highlight of the presentation by Cindi Lewis DCO BPI, was a groundbreaking South-South partnership between AMA and Barbados Pharmaceuticals Inc (BPI), a state-owned Caribbean company. 

The collaboration, she said, opens access to over 1.6 billion consumers through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the CARICOM market.

“This partnership with Barbados is a bold step forward. It demonstrates how Africa and the Caribbean can build joint manufacturing capabilities that reduce dependence on foreign systems and respond to our unique development challenges,” she said.

Barbados had sent a delegation to Nigeria last  month to formalize the partnership with amamed and PVAC, and assess the feasibility of setting up local manufacturing in the Caribbean. 

Bello added that the partnership will be supported by an R&D centre in Abuja and links with the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Bello was joined by David Pauza, Chief Science Officer at Viriom Inc., who detailed AMA’s ongoing Phase III clinical trial for Elpida, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) for HIV, at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, with NAFDAC approval secured in May 2025.

Pauza said, “Our partnership is built on four principles. We focus on critical health needs, regulatory transparency, commercial viability, and capacity-building with the goal of transitioning to full domestic production.

“Viriom is also supporting AMA in the local development of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), essential for everything from malaria to HIV. Nigeria, like many low – and middle-income countries (LMICs), currently relies entirely on imports for RDTs.

“We’re beginning with importation and testing, then transitioning to local production. It’s a game-changer.

 

Snakebite response and Pan-African antivenoms

Also discussed was the often-overlooked crisis of snakebite envenoming, which causes up to 138,000 deaths annually, mostly in poor and rural areas.

“Investing in snakebite response is not just humanitarian – it’s a test case for global health equity,” said Ian Cameron of Micropharm UK, who represented AMA’s biologics team. 

According to him, AMA is developing a suite of antivenoms, including EchiTAb and FAV Afrique, as Pan-African solutions to this deadly problem.”

Simpson stressed that this effort aligns with the WHO Strategy for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming and could “save thousands of lives while building Africa’s resilience.”

In his closing remarks, Bello argued that Africa’s pharmaceutical future depends on coordinated, locally-led strategies. 

He urged WHO, development partners, and regional bodies to embrace investment in moderate-sized R&D platforms, support regulatory harmonization, and enable pooled procurement.

He said, “Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector is at a crossroads stressing that multinational exits and aid cuts have exposed our vulnerabilities. 

“But with bold policy action and strategic initiatives like those driven by AMA Foundation, we can achieve health security and economic growth,” Bello said. 

According to him, AMA Medical Manufacturing Ltd is a successful business venture which embodies the potential for African pharmaceutical manufacturing to meet continental health security needs while driving economic development. 

Among the delegation is Saada Saidu-Bala, Director of AMA-MED.