| Overview : In its aspiration for regional integration, the SADC region is focused on industrialization as one of the core pillars for the achievement of its priority objectives. The Pharmaceutical manufacturing industrial development has specifically been targeted in order to improve sustainable availability of sustainable essential medicines, and ensuring equity quality for all Between 2009 and 2011 the SADC Secretariat commissioned a study in Member States to evaluate prevailing pharmaceutical procurement methods, rules, regulations, and laws with the view of finding a common ground on which the Pooled Procurement could be based upon. The study found considerable differences in Member States in relation to practices of the pharmaceutical Procurement and Supply Management (PSM) as well as in the application of regulations and procedures, such as for quality assurance (QA) in public procurement. While some Member States were found to be compliant with a number of internationally accepted principles of procurement, most Member States were still struggling to set clear normative pharmaceutical procurement rules and procedures due to insufficient capacities in terms of financial and human resources The SADC Secretariat considers that, there are opportunities to increase market efficiencies through regional approaches to procurement, one of them being the pooled procurement. The pre-feasibility study conducted between 2009 and 2011, demonstrated that considerable savings can be made through information and work sharing by procurement agencies in Member States. With these economies of scale more funds will become available for pharmaceutical procurement and lead to increased availability of and access to essential medicines and health commodities. The SADC Secretariat considers the Pooled procurement of health and pharmaceutical commodities as the first step in the process of developing a large market for in the region, which will attract investments in local production and market integration. | 
