NAIROBI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- African leaders agreed on Tuesday to accelerate a continental initiative designed to bolster the domestic production of essential health commodities, including medicines and vaccines.

They made the remarks on the sidelines before the opening ceremony of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

During a high-level meeting to discuss the newly launched Africa Initiative for Medical Access and Manufacturing (AIM2030), Kenyan President William Ruto said that Africa must overcome infrastructure and technical capacity bottlenecks to accelerate the implementation of the AIM2030.

He added that addressing these gaps is essential for the continent to achieve self-sufficiency in vaccines and medicines, which is critical for effectively combating deadly diseases.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the establishment of a vibrant local pharmaceutical manufacturing base will boost the continent's health resilience, human rights, and development outcomes.

African countries should explore innovative funding models to strengthen local production of essential health commodities and create resilient value chains to enhance supply across regional markets, Youssouf said.

Mohamed Yakub Janabi, World Health Organization regional director for Africa, said the continent has drawn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the fragility of its health systems through enhanced local production of health commodities.

AIM2030, according to Janabi, is a bold commitment by African nations and multilateral partners to double local manufacturing of health products, secure equitable access, and build resilient health systems aligned with Agenda 2063, a continental blueprint for socio-economic transformation.

Supported by the World Bank and the African Union, the continental initiative aims to boost indigenous manufacturing of health products and expand access to them in light of disruptions to global supply chains. ■