The African Development Bank and the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have signed a $3.56 million Memorandum of Understanding to develop the pharmaceutical industry in West Africa .

This funding is part of the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Support Project in West Africa. At a total cost of $3.77 million, the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Project in the ECOWAS region will be financed not only by this $3.56 million grant from the African Development Fund, the from the Bank Group, but also by a contribution of 200,000 dollars (cash) and 400,000 dollars (kind) from the ECOWAS Commission. The project will support the implementation of regulations relating to the application of duty-free treatment on pharmaceutical raw materials, packaging and finished products under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, a trade facilitation tool. intra-community trade. It also aims to establish an effective regional drug regulatory ecosystem by providing technical assistance and capacity building programs for regional drug regulatory authorities.