The permanent headquarters of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) is at the heart of a discord between Morocco and Algeria. Algiers has applied to host WADA’s premises. An African Union commission has been in the capital of the eastern neighbor since yesterday to assess Algeria’s capacity to host the headquarters of an important body among the AU bodies, while the continent is still facing the Covid-19 pandemic. The Algerian Prime Minister, Aïmene Benabderrahmane yesterday received the delegation dispatched for this purpose by the AU.
Morocco is also a candidate to become host country. An announcement made officially by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, on the occasion of the presentation of the progress report on the ratification of the treaty establishing WADA during the 40th ordinary session of the Executive Council of the African Union , held in February in Addis Ababa.
“Morocco, under the high royal guidelines, reiterates its call to share with Africa its experience and know-how for dynamic and growing South-South cooperation in all areas, including health, in particular the pharmaceutical sector, and is willing to host WADA headquarters and develop South-South partnership projects with Africa CDC (Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” the head of diplomacy said.
The treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency was adopted on February 11, 2019 by the Assembly of Heads of State of the AU. It officially entered into force on November 5, 2021, following the ratification of the agreement by around thirty members of the pan-African organization.
The Moroccan government ratified the treaty in February 2020. As a reminder, former chief executive Saadeddine El Othmani had receivedon June 2, 2021 in Rabat, Michel Sidibé, the AU special envoy for the African Medicines Agency (AMA).
In addition to Algeria and Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal are eyeing the same objective. The next African Union summit, scheduled for the second quarter of this year, should settle this question.
