Deputy Minister for Food and Drugs Holds Consultative Meeting with Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturers

Mawlawi Hamdullah Zahid, Deputy Minister for Food and Drugs of the Ministry of Public Health, convened a consultative meeting with representatives of 22 pharmaceutical and health product manufacturing factories from across the country.

The meeting, held at the auditorium of the Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority, brought together pharmaceutical sector directors, technical advisers to the Food and Drug Authority, and representatives of manufacturing factories. Participants discussed the current state of the country’s pharmaceutical industry, existing production capacities, strategies for strengthening and expanding local production, reducing dependence on imports, and advancing toward self-sufficiency in the manufacture of essential medicines.

The Deputy Minister emphasized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s full support for domestic production, urging factory officials to improve product quality, adopt international standards, and obtain GMP certification. He said that standardizing local production would promote fair competition, strengthen consumer confidence, and expand access to both domestic and international markets.

Additionally, the meeting assessed the production capacity of domestic factories and identified the items that local manufacturers are able to produce and supply. It was noted that this could help the country achieve self-sufficiency in a significant share of its pharmaceutical needs.

Factory representatives expressed their appreciation for the support, facilitation measures, and incentive policies provided by the IEA and the Ministry of Public Health for the development of the pharmaceutical industry. They noted that the share of domestic products in the pharmaceutical and healthcare market, which was previously below 5 percent, has now risen to over 40 percent due to sustained government support.

Factory representatives also assured that there is sufficient domestic production capacity for a number of pharmaceutical products, noting that local factories are capable of meeting the country’s domestic market needs.