ABSTRACT:
introduction africa’s reliance on suppliers outside the continent limits access to essential medicines and health products, a vulnerability starkly exposed during the covid-19 pandemic which resulted in stockouts and significant inequity 1. strengthening continental capacity is thus an urgent imperative for health security and aligns with the african union’s goal of meeting 60% of pharmaceutical needs through local production by 2040 2. this conceptual paper explores pan-african health commodity hubs as a transformative solution to this systemic dependency. methods the framework for this conceptual paper was established using a targeted analysis of policy documents, specifically synthesizing reports from the world health organization, the africa centres for disease control and prevention (africa cdc), and the african continental free trade area (afcfta) afcfta secretariat 3, 4. the framework for the proposed hubs was developed by analyzing lessons learned from successful pooled procurement mechanisms (ppms) and existing regional value chain initiatives 5. the methodology focused on identifying mechanisms to enhance supply chain resilience, ensure equitable access, and drive down commodity costs. results the analysis confirms that regional hubs are the necessary logistical backbone to operationalize the appm and afcfta, facilitating pooled procurement that can reduce unit costs and improve availability, especially for smaller nations 4, 6. the hubs directly mitigate the risk of geopolitical shocks by shortening supply chains and diversifying sourcing. the proposed governance model ensures inclusive decision-making, validating the mechanism as a driver of continental self-reliance. the model supports regional manufacturing hubs, a more sustainable alternative than fragmented country-level production 7. conclusions by moving past short-term crisis measures, this model establishes enduring health security across the continent that is scalable, policy-aligned, and resilient model to establish equitable and sustainable health systems across africa and also reinforcing africa’s leadership in global public health governance.