How Chinese pharma helps Mali build drug manufacturing capability

Published: May 02,2023

The pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Mali had long been lagging behind, with the drug market predominantly monopolized by expensive imported drugs, leaving the Malian people in urgent need of medical care and resources. However, this situation has been reversed through collaboration with a Chinese drugmaker.

Back in 2013, Humanwell Pharmaceuticals headquartered in China and the China-Africa Development Fund invested 350 million yuan (50 million U.S. dollars) in Mali’s capital and largest city Bamako to establish a local branch, Humanwell Africa Pharmaceutical. Two years later, the company built a state-of-the-art factory in Bamako to manufacture drugs locally, as part of its participation in the Belt and Road cooperation. The project is the first localized drug factory in Mali, and a modern pharmaceutical factory in West Africa with quite high construction standards.

Pascal Dao, who has been working for Humanwell for eight years, inspects workshops every day to ensure production safety. Working hard to improve his work skills and learn Chinese, Dao has become a middle manager. “What Humanwell brings us is not only a stable income and a dignified life, but more importantly, the hope,” he said.  Humanwell Africa Pharmaceutical has hired nearly 200 local employees like Pascal, and provided them with industrial and management training. 

Former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appreciated this project for benefitting the people of Mali, and helping Mali produce drugs independently. “Humanwell put an end to the history that Mali couldn’t make medicine, and will benefit Malians,” Keita once said.”After years of hard work, we have not only ensured the accessibility of medicines (in Mali), but also ensured the sustainability of the enterprise by creating economic and social benefits,” said Li Wensheng, general manager of Humanwell Africa Pharmaceutical, adding that the factory’s operation, including its construction and production, is in full compliance with relevant Chinese standards. “Now our drugs are sold to all Francophone countries in West Africa, with sales covering the mainstream drug market in the region,” Li said. “The current localization ratio of the factory has reached 95 percent, and 100 percent localization has been achieved for production positions and grassroots management positions. Therefore, the medicines are genuinely ‘made in Mali,'” he said.

The factory, a major player in Mali’s drug manufacturing sector, has also injected momentum to the development of industrial chains. “The surroundings of our factory used to be a wasteland, but now many factories have been established here,” Li said, adding that the growing demand for upstream and downstream products has driven local industrialization. “We hope to provide more quality and affordable medicines for the local people, and safeguard the health of people in West Africa,” he added.

Xinhua