Pharmaceutical Traceability in Ethiopia: The Scale of the Challenge

One of the things I value most about the #TraceHub community ...we don't read about progress from a distance. We hear it directly from the people driving it.

At our TraceHub Global Virtual Community Meeting, our speaker Mr Nathan Seyoum External Medicine Assessor (Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA)) & Regional Coordinator at East African Regulatory Affairs Professionals Association (EARAPA) gave us a powerful reality check on what pharmaceutical traceability means at #Ethiopia's scale:

• 120+ million Ethiopians to protect

• 25,000+ health commodities in circulation

• 10,953+ healthcare facilities and 18,000+ health posts

• 11 Manufacturers, 400+ Importers, 489 Wholesalers, 1,500+ Pharmacies, 4,056+ Drug shops, 618+ Drug vendors

• Drug import value: over 6.5 billion Ethiopian Birr

These numbers don't just describe a market. They define the stakes.

Building a track and trace system at this scale is one of the most complex.. and most important , public health infrastructure challenges in Africa today.

That's the value of community. The information comes straight from the source.