Progress amid persistent challenges: Africa's pharma logistics

Unlike commercial supply chains where delays translate into higher costs or dissatisfied customers, pharmaceutical logistics operates under a far less forgiving equation. A shipment held up at a border crossing, a breakdown in cold chain integrity, or an impassable road can directly affect patient outcomes. The urgency of strengthening pharmaceutical supply chains in Africa has once again come into focus as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) battles its 17th Ebola outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment, with the disease infecting more than 2,000 people, claiming over 750 lives and spilling across the border into Uganda.

The picture today is markedly different from a decade ago. Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, investments in digital technologies, improvements in transport infrastructure, and growing regional cooperation have strengthened many parts of Africa's pharmaceutical logistics ecosystem. But fragmented regulations, infrastructure gaps and cross-border bottlenecks continue to test the continent's ability to respond when every hour counts.

"Poor road networks, limited transport options and difficult terrain are common across many African countries, making the timely distribution of medicines both expensive and unreliable."
Lloyd Matowe, Pharmaceutical Systems Africa

How prepared for an outbreak?
From a pharmaceutical industry perspective, companies have become considerably better at preparing for disruptions. Abdessamad Saout, Senior Logistics, Distribution & Warehousing Supervisor at Hikma Pharmaceuticals in Morocco, says the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic fundamentally changed how pharma companies approach risk management. "Preparation has improved significantly compared to a decade ago," he says. "Many companies have strengthened business continuity plans, improved inventory visibility and diversified transportation options."

Hikma Pharmaceuticals is a London-headquartered multinational pharmaceutical company that manufactures and supplies branded, generic and injectable medicines across more than 50 countries.

The challenge, Saout adds, is ensuring that these improvements extend across the continent. "The level of preparedness is not uniform across Africa. Some countries have well-developed pharmaceutical ecosystems and logistics infrastructure, while others still face limitations in warehousing capacity, transportation networks and regulatory coordination."

However, Lloyd Matowe, Director of Pharmaceutical Systems Africa and Dean of the School of Pharmacy at Manica University in Zambia, believes recent progress should not obscure the structural weaknesses that still exist. Pharmaceutical Systems Africa is an international public health organisation led from Lusaka, Zambia, that works with governments across Africa to strengthen pharmaceutical supply systems and improve access to medicines.

"While there have been improvements in recent years, most African pharmaceutical supply chains remain only partially prepared to respond effectively to major disease outbreaks," he says. The biggest gaps, according to Matowe, remain shortages of skilled supply chain professionals, limited laboratory capacity, inconsistent political commitment and chronic underfunding of public health supply chains.

When unpredictability reigns
"I usually look at African logistics in two phases: the pre-Covid era and the post-Covid era," says Vinayak Shukla, Head of Africa Trade Corridor at Triton Logistics & Maritime. Part of the India-based Abrao Group, Triton is a freight forwarder which leverages its expertise in Africa to connect Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers with the continent. Also, in June 2025, Abrao Group announced a joint venture with Rushabh Sealink to launch A&R Africa, a logistics brand focused on strengthening the India–Africa–Middle East trade axis with plans to operate shipping vessels.

Although maritime services have gradually stabilised since the disruptions of the pandemic, vessel schedules remain less predictable than before Covid-19, prompting many pharmaceutical companies to reassess how they move time-sensitive products into Africa. Thus, modal mix has also shifted significantly in recent years.

"Approximately 70-80% of our pharmaceutical shipments move via air freight, while only around 10-20% move by ocean freight," says Shukla. "The preference for air transport has increased substantially because pharmaceutical cargo is highly time-sensitive."

He attributes the shift not only to speed but also to the lingering unpredictability of ocean freight. "Before Covid-19, transit time from India to Mombasa was typically around 15 to 16 days. Today, that journey generally takes 20 to 25 days, sometimes longer due to congestion at multiple ports. Earlier, the biggest deciding factor was freight cost. But marine freight rates have increased to such an extent that the price difference between ocean freight and air freight has narrowed considerably."

The major gateway ports to Africa for Triton Logistics & Maritime are Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Mombasa in Kenya and Beira in Mozambique. "Each gateway serves different inland corridors. Cargo destined for Kigali and Lusaka is generally routed through Dar es Salaam, Kampala through Mombasa, while shipments for Malawi typically move through Beira," says Shukla. These gateways have become increasingly efficient, but moving cargo beyond them remains considerably more challenging.

"The biggest challenge, particularly for inland Africa, is the road infrastructure," says Shukla.

"If I had to choose one priority, it would be increasing local pharmaceutical manufacturing, especially the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and key excipients."
Abdessamad Saout, Hikma Pharmaceuticals

Limited cross-border movements
For Matowe, however, transport is only one part of a much broader challenge. Medicines still cannot move freely across large parts of the continent because each country maintains its own regulatory requirements, approval processes and import rules.

He cited the difficulty of transferring pharmaceutical products from Rwanda to the DRC because of differing regulatory requirements. "Poor road networks, limited transport options and difficult terrain are common across many African countries, making the timely distribution of medicines both expensive and unreliable."

In countries such as the DRC and South Sudan, weak transport infrastructure continues to restrict access to medicines. "It is extremely difficult to move products from the southern or eastern parts of the DRC to the north by road," he says.

Saout notes that customs processes have improved in several markets, particularly for companies with robust compliance systems, but lead times continue to vary significantly from one country to another. "Companies with strong quality systems and a good regulatory track record generally experience smoother clearance," he says. "But the process still requires careful planning."

However, according to Shukla, customs procedures remain fragmented across Africa. Even minor paperwork errors can delay time-sensitive pharmaceutical shipments. "Border clearance remains one of the most challenging aspects of logistics in Africa," says Shukla. "Each country has its own customs regulations, permits and border procedures. Without the required documentation, cargo can face significant delays at border crossings."

For pharmaceutical companies, these operational realities influence not only transport planning but also inventory strategies. Unlike many developed markets, inventory buffers across Africa tend to remain relatively lean. “Companies usually import medicines according to demand rather than maintaining large inventories," says Shukla. That approach improves working capital but leaves little room for disruption, making transport reliability critical.

Funding remains the concern
Saout has witnessed that transformation first-hand in Morocco, where both public and private investment have accelerated warehouse modernisation. "Digitalisation is no longer viewed as a competitive advantage; it has become a necessity," he says.

He points to technologies such as Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), RFID, barcode scanning and real-time inventory tracking as tools that have dramatically improved traceability and operational control. "In my own experience, implementing SAP WMS supported by RFID-enabled processes significantly improved inventory accuracy, consistently maintaining stock accuracy above 99.5 percent," says Saout. "Beyond accuracy, it provided real-time visibility of inventory movements, reduced manual transactions, accelerated warehouse operations and made investigations much faster whenever discrepancies occurred."

Matowe also agrees that investments in digital logistics systems have delivered measurable benefits, particularly within donor-funded healthcare programmes. Countries including Zambia, Tanzania and Ethiopia adopted digital logistics management systems capable of tracking health commodities from central medical stores to individual health facilities.

However, he cautions that many of these systems remain vulnerable because they rely heavily on external funding. "These systems enabled the full digitisation of product consumption data and made it possible to trace and track health commodities," says Matowe. "But following the withdrawal of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) support and subsequent funding gaps, many of these systems are beginning to deteriorate due to insufficient domestic financing."

The lesson, he argues, is that technology alone cannot build resilient supply chains without long-term local investment. Physical infrastructure presents only one side of the equation. Crossing borders often proves equally challenging.

While road transport will remain dominant for most inland corridors, multimodal logistics is gradually becoming a more viable option. One of the most significant developments has been the maturation of the rail corridor linking the Port of Mombasa with Kampala. Once considered unreliable, the route has evolved into an increasingly dependable alternative for inland cargo.

"Today, rail services operate daily between Mombasa and Kampala," says Shukla. "The rail network has become much more structured and operationally reliable." Importantly for the pharmaceutical industry, refrigerated containers can now move seamlessly by rail. "We are fully capable of transporting reefer containers from Mombasa to Kampala by rail," he says, noting that major shipping lines are investing heavily in integrated sea-rail solutions that allow temperature-controlled cargo to move under a single logistics arrangement.

"Border clearance remains one of the most challenging aspects of logistics in Africa. Each country has its own customs regulations, permits and border procedures. Without the required documentation, cargo can face significant delays at border crossings."
Vinayak Shukla, Triton Logistics & Maritime

Local manufacturing, private sector key
Despite the operational challenges, it is wrong to view Africa's pharmaceutical supply chain solely through the lens of constraints. Instead, the market is undergoing a gradual but fundamental transformation, one that presents significant opportunities for pharmaceutical manufacturers, logistics providers and investors willing to build for the long term.

Shukla believes the broader transformation taking place across Africa will create opportunities extending well beyond pharmaceuticals. "Traditionally, people have viewed Africa simply as 54 individual countries," he says. "However, over the past five years, we have seen increasing efforts by the African Union to position the continent as a single integrated market."

That shift, driven by initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is gradually lowering barriers to regional trade and improving logistics efficiency. "From the perspective of India and China, Africa is becoming one of the most important growth markets," Shukla says. "As Africa increasingly functions as a unified market, the opportunities for trade and logistics will continue to expand."

Yet the long-term opportunity extends beyond simply moving imported medicines more efficiently. For Saout, Africa's next chapter lies in building stronger pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities on the continent. "If I had to choose one priority, it would be increasing local pharmaceutical manufacturing, especially the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and key excipients," he says.

Today, many African countries remain heavily dependent on imported raw materials, exposing manufacturers to transportation costs, customs delays and global supply disruptions. "Developing regional manufacturing capabilities would improve supply security, shorten replenishment times and reduce dependence on international markets."

That investment, Saout argues, must go hand in hand with investment in people. "Building expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing, quality assurance, engineering, supply chain management and digital technologies will be just as important as investing in factories," he says.

Matowe shares that long-term vision and supports private investment. "If I could make one transformative change, it would be to expand the private sector's role in the distribution and sale of medicines while creating a more integrated African pharmaceutical market," he says.

"Africa has a population of approximately 1.3 billion people, comparable to those of India and China," Matowe notes. "A more harmonised market with aligned regulatory systems, reduced trade barriers and freer movement of pharmaceutical products would create economies of scale, lower costs, encourage local manufacturing and significantly strengthen medicine availability across the continent.”