{"id":40081,"date":"2025-09-29T13:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T11:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=40081"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:35:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T11:35:07","slug":"invest-in-manufacturing-medicines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/29\/invest-in-manufacturing-medicines\/","title":{"rendered":"INVEST: In manufacturing medicines"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Senior Health officials have called for investment in local pharmaceutical manufacturing to reduce South Sudan\u2019s dependence on imported medicines and the urgent need to prepare for future health emergencies.<\/p>\n

Speaking during World Pharmacy Day celebrations in Juba on Friday September 25, 2025, Dr. Atem Nathan, representing the Undersecretary at the National Ministry of Health, said Africa\u2019s delayed access to COVID-19 vaccines exposed the risks of relying solely on imports.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember during COVID-19, vaccines were made and Africa had to wait. They were the last to be served with the vaccines,\u201d Dr. Nathan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat has prompted a move that there should be the ability to do some manufacturing here because we don\u2019t know the next situation that will come. We cannot wait for things that are manufactured in other continents,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Addressing over 200 pharmacists gathered for the event, Dr. Nathan encouraged professionals to begin experimenting with drug formulation and basic lab work. \u201cIt\u2019s time to begin to experiment. Most of you do not have that small corner where you will be mixing A and B and maybe struggle over a new drug. You should have that small corner,\u201d he encouraged the pharmacists.<\/p>\n

During his speech, Dr. Nathan also decried unsafe and unregulated drug practices in parts of the country, where medicines are sold openly \u201clike kodorowat\u201d and even identified by color. He urged pharmacists\u2019 professional associations to restore order, adding: \u201cThose kinds of practices need to be eliminated. This is not the time for them, and nobody will do that. It is you people, with our help also,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

His remarks were echoed by Dr. Wani Tom, representing the Central Equatoria State Minister of Health at the event, who praised the government\u2019s efforts in training pharmacists and expanding pharmacy businesses in Juba.<\/p>\n

However, he acknowledged persistent challenges including dependence on imported medicine and medical supplies, limited mini-labs at border areas for quality assurance, and lack of domestic funds for procurement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dependence on imported medicine and medical supplies remains a challenge. There is limited quality assurance at border points, inadequate storage facilities, high costs of drugs, and lack of government domestic funds for procurement,\u201d Dr. Wani stressed.<\/p>\n

Dr. Wani called for a coordinated response from government, donors, and institutions to invest in pharmacy education and research. \u201cLet there be a call to integrate pharmacists more deeply into the public health strategy. A healthier world is only possible when pharmacists are empowered to do their best,\u201d he appealed.<\/p>\n

Both officials agreed that empowering pharmacists and promoting local production would be crucial to achieving safe, affordable, and sustainable healthcare. \u201cWhen we think health, we must think pharmacy,\u201d Dr. Tom concluded.<\/p>\n

The speeches mark a growing consensus among health leaders that South Sudan must shift from dependency to self-reliance in pharmaceutical production. As Dr. Nathan concluded, \u201cWe are here for peace, and we have to build this country. Building is more difficult than destruction; but it starts with small steps.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement Senior Health officials have called for investment in local pharmaceutical manufacturing to reduce South Sudan\u2019s dependence on imported medicines and the urgent need to prepare for future health emergencies. Speaking during World Pharmacy Day celebrations in Juba on Friday September 25, 2025, Dr. Atem Nathan, representing the[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":40082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-2","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/INVEST.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40081"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40083,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40081\/revisions\/40083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}