The Tanzania Government recognized the importance of improving the health status of its people as means of combating poverty and implementing overall Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Government evolved policies and mapped out strategies of ensuring improvement of the public health. The National Health Policy of Tanzania (2007) advocates the provision without discrimination of comprehensive basic health services to all Tanzanians while the National Medicines Policy (2008) overall objective is to make available to all Tanzanians safe, quality and effective drugs at affordable prices. The Policy identified the support to domestic industries for the purpose of increasing domestic production as an important strategy to achieving this objective.

The trend of investing in domestic pharmaceutical industries by domestic entrepreneurs is encouraging and indicates that there is recognition of the importance of domestic production of pharmaceuticals and its economic potential. However, despite of the moderate increase in investments and production of essential medicines by the domestic industries, their market share (both private and public) hasn’t gone beyond 30%. This calls for deliberate and sustained efforts to encourage and promote further investment on this strategic sector.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade with support of UNDP commissioned a team of consultants review the current policy and initiatives so as to identify areas for strengthening so as to facilitate effective develop strategies for promotion of domestic production of pharmaceuticals in Tanzania. The phase 1 of assignment – the review- has been completed and the report “Towards a National Strategy for the Development of the Pharmaceutical DocuSign Envelope ID: 0BC6E546-0DC6-4480-B878-21E4952F6AA9 2 Industry in the Tanzania Mainland” has been finalized and delivered to the Government. The Ministry want to move to phase 2 and will be engaging a team of local consultants to develop the strategy, with the support of UNDP.…….etc……….