In October 2025, it was announced that China is advancing its ‘health silk road’ in Africa by initiating the local production of essential medicines such as insulin, antiretroviral drugs, and vaccines.
This will address shortages and reduce the continent’s reliance on imported pharmaceuticals. Global health agencies have reported that Africa imports almost all its vaccines and 70% of its essential medicines. China’s moves to develop the health silk road could help close the gap between public health needs and medical supply capacity.
In Nigeria, a project between Nigeria’s National Biotechnology Development Agency and Shanghai Haiqi Industrial Company, aims to build a plant to produce insulin and make it more affordable and accessible to millions of diabetic patients. Similar projects are underway in Egypt, where EVA Pharma began producing insulin in 2024 in partnership with US firm Eli Lilly; and in South Africa where Aspen Pharmacare is working with Denmark's Novo Nordisk.
Furthermore, Nigeria is collaborating with Chinese firms to construct a US$100 million antiviral drug plant in Lagos. This project involves a partnership between Nigeria’s Fidson Healthcare has partnered with Jiangsu Aidea Pharma, PharmaBlock Sciences Nanjing Inc, and the China-Africa Development Fund. The initiative aims to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign pharmaceutical giants and fill the gap left when GSK and Sanofi pulled out of manufacturing in the region in 2024. The new facility is scheduled for completion in 2027 and is expected to strengthen domestic capacity for HIV treatment.
In the Côte d’Ivoire, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical is finalizing the first stage of a US€50 million pharmaceutical plant near Abidjan. This facility will be capable of producing up to 5 billion tablets annually, including malaria treatments and antibiotics.
Chinese pharmaceutical firms are also boosting local production in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
The health silk road is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Overall, this is framed as a humanitarian initiative, but it also aligns with China’s strategic and commercial interests China is investing in African drug manufacturing and biotech partnerships and reshaping the pharmaceutical landscape of the continent. China is strengthening African medical sovereignty and deepening their own strategic foothold.
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