Protecting Africa's Patients Through Safer Medicines
Africa has made significant progress in expanding access to medicines. However, the systems needed to ensure those medicines remain safe and effective have not kept pace.
Unsafe medicines due to substandard and falsified medicines and weak post-market surveillance continue to expose millions of patients to preventable harm.
No actor is untouched. No single regulator, government, healthcare provider, patient organisation, pharmaceutical company or development partner can address these challenges alone. Strengthening medicines safety requires coordinated action across the entire medicines ecosystem.
medicines in LMICs estimated to be substandard or falsified.
estimated deaths annually linked to poor-quality medicines in Saharan Africa.
of globally reported cases of substandard and falsified medicines are detected in Africa.
estimated global market for counterfeit medicines, with Africa disproportionally affected.
Unsafe Medicines Are a Hidden Patient Safety Crisis
Every day, millions of Africans depend on medicines to prevent illness, treat disease and improve quality of life.
Yet unsafe medicines remain a major threat. Evidence shows that an estimated 20% of cancer medications across Kenya, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Malawi in formal and informal settings are substandard or falsified.
Read moreBuilding Africa's Frontline Defence Against Unsafe Medicines
Medicines safety is shaped by many actors and organisations. Medicines for Africa connects the entire ecosystem. We bring together regulators, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, researchers, communities and patients.
Regulators establish standards and oversight. Manufacturers safeguard quality. Healthcare professionals make decisions that affect patient outcomes. Communities and patients identify risks through lived experience. But medication-related risk and harm emerge across the entire medicines journey. The solution requires a connected ecosystem where knowledge, experience and responsibility come together.
MFA exists to connect these perspectives, ensuring patient safety remains visible, understood and acted upon. By combining technical expertise, African insight and real-world experience, we help transform fragmented efforts into coordinated action.
Mobilising Action for Patient Safety
Medicines for Africa (MFA) is an African-led patient safety organisation and Africa's trusted platform for medicines and patient safety.
We bridge the gap between policy and practice, regulatory systems and patient experience, knowledge and implementation. Our purpose is to ensure that patient safety is not an afterthought but a fundamental part of every medicines system.
We bring together regulators, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, researchers, communities and patients to identify risks, connect expertise, and turn evidence and frontline experience into safer medicines systems across the continent.
We are Africa's consistent voice on patient safety mobilising action and building the frontline defence against unsafe medicines.
Turning Patient Experiences Into Actionable Intelligence
Medicines for Africa connects what happens on the ground with decisions that shape medicines safety.
Listen
Capture insights from patients, healthcare professionals and communities.
Translate
Convert real-world experiences into evidence and safety signals.
Mobilise
Bring stakeholders together to develop practical solutions.
Protecting Patients Requires Collective Action.
Mobilising Collective Action to Prevent Medication-Related Harm
Everything we do supports one purpose:
Protect patients by building safer medicines systems across Africa.
Africa's Frontline Defence Against Unsafe Medicines
Many organisations contribute to medicines safety.
Medicines for Africa connects the entire ecosystem.
We combine:
- African leadership
- Patient safety expertise
- Regulatory understanding
- Healthcare experience
- Community perspectives
By combining technical expertise, African insight and real-world experience, we help transform fragmented efforts into coordinated action.
Who We Are
Medicines for Africa is an African-led patient safety organisation dedicated to preventing medication-related harm.
Protecting Patients Through Patient-Centred Regulation and Safer Medicines
We convene the people and institutions responsible for medicines safety including regulators, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, researchers, communities and patients to create coordinated action that protect patients from unsafe medicines.
Mission
To mobilise action that protects African patients from medication-related harm by strengthening medicines and patient safety systems.
Vision
An Africa where every patient has access to safe, effective and trusted medicines through resilient and collaborative medicines safety systems.
Our Values
Advancing Knowledge That Protects Patients
Knowledge drives better decisions.
Action changes patient outcomes.
Medicines for Africa generates and shares practical knowledge that strengthens policy, informs practice and accelerates medicines safety action.
Join Africa's Medicines Safety Movement
Protecting patients from medication-related harm requires collective action.
Medicines for Africa works with leaders and institutions committed to protecting patients and strengthening medicines safety systems.
Become a Strategic Partner
Partner with us to strengthen systems, develop solutions and accelerate patient safety action.
Collaborate With Us
Collaborate with us to co-design programmes, support innovation, strengthen regulation, build safer supply chains, empower communities and advance patient safety across Africa.
Participate
Join our Safe Medicines Community, attend our webinars, share your expertise, contribute research and become part of Africa's growing medicines safety network.
Together, We Can Build Africa's Frontline Defence Against Unsafe Medicines
The future of medicines safety depends on collective action and collaboration. Join Medicines for Africa in mobilising the partnerships, knowledge and action needed to protect every patient.