Addis Ababa, 27 August 2026 – On the margins of the 76th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) hosted a high-level delegation from Unitaid, led by Robert Matiru, Director of the Programme Division, for discussions on strengthening existing collaboration and exploring broader areas of strategic partnership.
The engagement builds on the ongoing Unitaid-supported initiative to strengthen AHRI’s Bioavailability/Bioequivalence (BA/BE) Centre and follows recent high-level discussions between Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health and Unitaid leadership on advancing access to quality-assured health products and strengthening local and regional manufacturing capacity.
Welcoming the delegation, Dr. Alemseged Abdissa, Deputy Director General at AHRI, highlighted the Institute’s expanding contribution to medical research, clinical and implementation research, diagnostics, genomics, and the generation of evidence required to translate health innovations into public-health impact.
“AHRI is increasingly strengthening the link between scientific discovery, clinical evidence and implementation so that research can contribute more directly to improved health outcomes and access to innovative health technologies,” Dr. Alemseged noted.
Asst. Prof. Messay Woldemariam, Deputy Director General at AHRI, highlighted the Institute’s growing role in pharmaceutical R&D and pharmaceutical industry development, including product development, BA/BE services, technology transfer and support to Ethiopia’s local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.
“Our ambition is to build an integrated pathway from research and product development through evidence generation, regulatory readiness and local manufacturing to patient access. The BA/BE Centre is an important part of this ecosystem, with the potential to serve Ethiopia and progressively contribute to regional needs,” he said.
The discussion also covered opportunities to strengthen African bioequivalence capacity, establish closer technical linkages with the World Health Organization, contribute to training and emerging BE guidance, and explore a practical pathway for supporting an Ethiopian pharmaceutical manufacturer toward WHO prequalification.
Speaking during the discussion, Robert Matiru, Director of the Programme Division at Unitaid, emphasized the importance of understanding AHRI’s broader vision and identifying practical areas where Unitaid and its partners could add catalytic value. He welcomed continued engagement around the BA/BE platform, regional manufacturing and opportunities to support an Ethiopian manufacturer along a prequalification pathway.
The two sides further discussed opportunities related to regional pharmaceutical manufacturing, diagnostics, implementation research, pharmacogenomics and regional bioequivalence initiatives, as well as the importance of strong country leadership in advancing sustainable African manufacturing of quality-assured health products.
The meeting concluded with a shared interest in moving the partnership forward through focused technical follow-up, including accelerating operationalization of the BA/BE Centre, strengthening WHO technical linkages, identifying opportunities within Unitaid’s regional manufacturing agenda, and exploring selected areas for expanded AHRI–Unitaid collaboration.
AHRI looks forward to building on this constructive engagement to advance health-product innovation, local manufacturing and equitable access in Ethiopia and across Africa.
