Putting Patient Safety First
about medicines for africa
An independent, African-led organization
Medicines for Africa is an independent, African-led organization committed to reducing the impact of unsafe medicines on patients in Africa, including substandard and falsified medical products.
Our goal, to protect patients from harm by ensuring safer medicines in African communities requires that we work across sectors with with regulators, healthcare professionals, communities and patients and others to support practical, system-focused approaches that prevents harm and strengthens trust in medicines.
Our work is grounded in the belief that improving access to medicines must go hand in hand with safeguarding their safety.
Why medicines safety matters
Unsafe medical products such as substandard and falsified medicines undermine treatment outcomes, erode confidence in health systems, and pose serious risks to patients.
As regulatory systems across Africa continue to mature and cooperation expands, sustained attention to patient safety and robust oversight over medicines quality and integrity remain essential.
Addressing these risks requires structured collaboration amongst core stakeholders and informed analysis to understand the issues, and the impactful actions needed to address them.
Unsafe medical products such as substandard and falsified medicines undermine treatment outcomes, erode confidence in health systems, and pose serious risks to patients.
As regulatory systems across Africa continue to mature and cooperation expands, sustained attention to patient safety and robust oversight over medicines quality and integrity remain essential.
Addressing these risks requires structured collaboration amongst core stakeholders and informed analysis to understand the issues, and the impactful actions needed to address them.
Our approach
Medicines for Africa advocates for patient safety and engages constructively across the medicines ecosystem, with key actors including with regulatory authorities, healthcare professionals, and other relevant stakeholders.
We drive informed discussions to strengthen understanding of risks to patient safety and raise awareness of medicines and patient safety. We collaborate with others to leverage shared responsibility for patient protection. We support coordinated responses that strengthen the protection of patients and medicines safety systems as public-health tools.
Our engagement is grounded in independence, professionalism, and a commitment to the public interest. Our work focuses on approaches that promote continuous learning, adaptive regulatory practice, and feedback mechanisms that reflect real-world patient experience.
Medicines for Africa advocates for patient safety and engages constructively across the medicines ecosystem, with key actors including with regulatory authorities, healthcare professionals, and other relevant stakeholders.
We drive informed discussions to strengthen understanding of risks to patient safety and raise awareness of medicines and patient safety. We collaborate with others to leverage shared responsibility for patient protection. We support coordinated responses that strengthen the protection of patients and medicines safety systems as public-health tools.
Our engagement is grounded in independence, professionalism, and a commitment to the public interest. Our work focuses on approaches that promote continuous learning, adaptive regulatory practice, and feedback mechanisms that reflect real-world patient experience.
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Our Founder
Medicines for Africa was founded by Dr. Lenias Hwenda, a public health leader with experience spanning science, international health affairs, regulatory development and global health initiatives. Our multi-disciplinary team comprises scientific experts with experience from leading regulatory institutions across Africa, expertise spanning clinical trials, medicines pre-qualification, laboratory testing, market surveillance, pharmacovigilance, and patient safety. |
 Dr Lenias Hwenda
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