Open Access

This book is open access under a CC-BY license. This book is about medicines production in sub-Saharan Africa, an enquiry driven by the vast unmet health needs of the sub-continent. It is a collective endeavour by a group of editors and authors with a strong African and more broadly Southern presence to find ways forward that link technological development, investment and industrial growth in pharmaceuticals to improve access to essential good quality medicines, as part of moving towards universal access to competent health care. We aim to shift the emphasis in international debate to give much more attention to the scope for sustained Africa-based and African-led initiatives to tackle this huge challenge. Without the technological, industrial, intellectual, organisational and research-related capabilities associated with competent pharmaceutical production, and without policies that pull the industrial sectors towards serving local health needs, the African sub-continent cannot generate the resources to tackle the needs and demands of its population.