[Correspondence] The need for locally manufactured health commodities in Africa

The 2021 Lancet Commission on diagnostics reported that nearly half of the world's population has limited access to basic diagnostic services.1 Less than 5% of diagnostics and less than 1% of vaccines used in Africa are produced locally.2 Heavy reliance on external supply is a strategic vulnerability, with consequences magnified during pandemics when global competition for medical countermeasures intensifies. Local manufacturing requires more than technical capacity: it demands policies that shape markets, reduce risk for early movers, and reward quality-assured local production.