Tanzania is courting United States investors to establish pharmaceutical, medical equipment, diagnostic and health technology manufacturing operations in the country as it seeks to reduce reliance on imported health products and position itself as a regional production hub.
Health Minister Mohamed Omary Mchengerwa made the pitch at the US-Tanzania Health Partnership Stakeholders Meeting in Washington, D.C., where he said Tanzania was ready to provide an environment for US capital, technology and expertise to enter the country’s growing health manufacturing industry.
He said the Government wanted to shift Tanzania from being predominantly an importer of medicines and other health products to a producer capable of supplying both domestic and regional markets.
“This is an opportunity for investors to bring capital, technology and expertise into Tanzania as we build the country’s capacity to manufacture medicines and other health products for Africa,” Mr Mchengerwa said.
To accelerate investment, the Ministry of Health has established the Pharmaceutical Investment Acceleration Taskforce (PIAT), bringing together key Government institutions including the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA), Medical Stores Department (MSD), Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and the authority responsible for special economic zones.
The taskforce is intended to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and speed up investment processes in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Government is also developing a dedicated pharmaceutical special economic zone at Mloganzila, outside Dar es Salaam, while preparing plans for a national vaccine and biological products manufacturing plant.
Mr Mchengerwa said Tanzania was also reviewing its tax and tariff arrangements for pharmaceutical raw materials and packaging materials to align them with East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) frameworks.
The reforms are intended to lower production costs and make locally manufactured health products more competitive against imports.
Tanzania’s regional market proposition is another key part of the Government’s pitch.
Mr Mchengerwa said Tanzania had been selected to host and lead SADC’s pooled procurement services, creating an opportunity for manufacturers based in the country to access a market covering 16 SADC member states.
He said the arrangement could give investors access to a regional market of more than 300 million people, allowing companies established in Tanzania to look beyond domestic demand.
The Government’s strategy comes as Tanzania seeks to strengthen domestic manufacturing of essential medicines and health products, improve supply security and turn the health sector into a larger industrial and investment opportunity.
For US investors, the Government argues that Tanzania offers not only a growing domestic market but also a platform for supplying health products across the wider African market.