Written by: Badr Ahmed

Dr. Tamer El-Husseini, Vice President of the Egyptian Drug Authority, participated in a high-level panel discussion entitled “From Innovation to Accessibility: Building an Integrated African System for Medical Diagnostics,” as part of the activities of the African Health Conference and Exhibition (Africa Health ExCon 2026), in the presence of a select group of health and regulatory leaders and representatives of regional and international institutions.

Egypt is leading an African discussion on developing the pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics system.

During his speech, Dr. Tamer Al-Husseini reviewed the most prominent regulatory challenges facing the availability of medical preparations, diagnostic tools and anti-epidemic products in Africa, stressing the importance of aligning regulatory requirements between countries, accelerating registration procedures and strengthening mutual accreditation mechanisms to ensure access to safe, effective and high-quality products for patients.

The Vice President of the Authority explained that the Egyptian Drug Authority has succeeded during the past years in establishing an advanced model for regulatory accreditation and benefiting from the outputs of global reference bodies, supported by an advanced digital system and strategic partnerships with many regional and international regulatory authorities, which has contributed to accelerating procedures while fully maintaining standards of quality and efficiency.

He also stressed the pivotal role of the African Medicines Agency in supporting regulatory harmonization efforts and enhancing mutual trust between national regulatory authorities, thereby contributing to reducing duplication and accelerating the availability of medicines and diagnostics within African markets.

Al-Husseini touched on the efforts of the Egyptian Drug Authority in supporting harmonization initiatives, transferring expertise and building capacities at the regional level, based on its role as a regional center of organizational excellence and a training center accredited by the World Health Organization, reiterating the Authority’s commitment to continue supporting African integration and enhancing the readiness of health systems to build more resilient systems in the face of future challenges.

In closing, the Vice President of the Authority stressed that building an integrated African regulatory system based on trust, interdependence, and digital transformation is the cornerstone for achieving health security, promoting local manufacturing, and supporting equitable access to medical products across the continent.

This comes as a confirmation of the leading role played by the Egyptian Drug Authority in supporting the African health integration process, and strengthening partnerships with regional and international regulatory institutions and bodies, which contributes to building a more efficient and sustainable African health system capable of providing safe and effective medical and diagnostic products to the African citizen.