In 2023, as the COVID-19 pandemic receded, the African Development Bank Group launched the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation to address the inequities in vaccine production and distribution during the pandemic that disproportionately affected the African continent. The foundation aims to enhance Africa’s local pharmaceutical capacity and access to the technologies necessary for discovering and manufacturing medicines. This commentary identifies critical concerns that could undermine the foundation’s objectives and legitimacy, including the potential misuse of public resources due to overlap with a similar agency; the endorsement of a “black box” system that impedes genuine international technology transfer of pharmaceutical know-how and resources; a continent-wide approach that fails to account for Africa’s diversity; and the absence of a clear public accountability structure in the foundation’s governance framework. The article also offers preliminary recommendations to address these challenges.

You do not currently have access to this content.