Announcing the African Medicines Agency Treaty Alliance – AMATA

Announcing the African Medicines Agency Treaty Alliance – AMATA

Press and media
Wednesday, 9 June 2021

As a next step in IAPO’s campaign calling for Heads of State and Government to ratify the African Medicines Agency Treaty, we are delighted to inform you that we will be launching the African Medicines Agency Treaty Alliance (AMATA) on the 22nd June 2021 at the upcoming high-level meeting on the African Medicines Agency: Vision and Strategy for the African Continent.

AMATA will be a multi-stakeholder alliance set up to advocate for the rapid ratification and implementation of the African Medicines Agency Treaty (AMA) and for meaningful engagement with patients and other relevant parties, in all aspects of the Agency framework.

The immediate aims and objectives of the AMATA will be to: 

  1. Accelerate the ratification and implementation of the AMA Treaty 
  2. Ensure that the Agency engages with patients and a range of stakeholders who stand to benefit from regulatory harmonisation and are willing to share their expertise 
  3. Call for AMA’s Governing Board to recognise patients as key partners 
  4. Ensure there is regulatory convergence and reliance mechanisms to ensure AMA can deliver to the same standards as other regional agencies
  5. Call for the inclusion in the structure of the future Agency, a mechanism to bring technical expertise from a range of stakeholders to the table
  6. Be the centralised body galvanising all non-State Actor engagement in the further development and implementation of the Treaty and Agency

Membership of the AMATA

Membership will be open to local, regional, national or international organisations that are committed to ensuring African patients have non-discriminatory timely access to safe and quality medicines and health devices and believe that the African Medicines Agency is the most appropriate Pan-African organisation to help us achieve this.

Members will include:

  • Patient and community health related organisations
  • Non-governmental and other civil society organisations engaged in African development
  • African health professional associations like those representing doctors, nurses, community health workers and community pharmacists
  • African academic bodies 
  • Non-State actors in official relationship with the WHO and their African members or chapters
  • Public-private partnerships, including product development partnerships
  • Trade associations and other bodies representing the private sector

Join AMATA

Further information on AMATA will be shared on the day of the launch.