The fifth meeting of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technical Committee was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2 to 4 May, 2012. Participants included: African Union Member States from Burundi, Ghana and Senegal, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Council for Health Research and Development, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers association, and South African Generic Medicines Association.

The African Union was represented by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Programme and representatives from the Department of Social Affairs, African Union medical services directorate and the Department of Trade and Industry. Partner agencies represented included: African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation, European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, and World Bank. The meeting aimed at:

developing a coordination mechanism for programmes intervening in the pharmaceutical sector in Africa;

reviewing the draft business plan for the implementation of the pharmaceutical manufacturing plan of Africa;

identifying key action and results areas for the next steps.