She was 45, a mother of three, diagnosed with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Her clinicians knew the standard of care. Monoclonal antibody therapies targeting HER2 have extended survival and improved quality of life for patients worldwide. In her case, however, access was inconsistent. The medicines were imported, prohibitively expensive, and vulnerable to supply interruptions. Treatment could not be sustained. ALSO READ: Inside Rwanda’s push to eliminate cervical cancer ahead of WHO targets She died not because the therapy was unknown but because it was unavailable when it mattered most. ALSO READ: Rwanda adds brachytherapy to cancer treatment services Her death left three children without a parent and a family without its primary caregiver - an outcome that continues to repeat itself across the continent, quietly and predictably, in hospitals where medical knowledge exists but access does not. ALSO READ: Rwanda moves to make cancer treatment more affordable for population A second patient reflects the same structural gap. She is 60 and suffers from diabetic macular edema, a leading cause of preventable blindness. The condition can often be stabilized with regular anti-VEGF therapy, but only when treatment is consistently available and affordable. In her situation, access has remained uncertain. Appointments are missed when medicines are unavailable or unaffordable. Without sustained treatment, vision loss becomes an expectation. These are not isolated cases. They reflect a broader reality across Africa, where life-saving biologic therapies standard elsewhere remain inaccessible to many because of high costs, fragile supply chains, and limited local manufacturing. Africa never lacked scientific or clinical talent. What it has long lacked are platforms capable of changing this reality at scale, and that is beginning to change. Rwanda is emerging as one of the few countries where globally trained African scientists, clinicians, and biotechnology leaders are returning not simply to advise, but to build institutions aligned with international standards. The urgency is clear. Africa records roughly 1.2 million new cancer cases annually and more than 700,000 cancer-related deaths, with incidence expected to rise sharply. Diabetes and its complications are increasing at similar rates. Yet the continent continues to receive only a small share of global investment in advanced therapeutics. For years, monoclonal antibodies for cancer and anti-VEGF therapies for eye disease became standard care in wealthier countries while remaining largely inaccessible across Africa. High prices and dependence on global supply chains turned proven science into unreachable care. This imbalance is no longer sustainable. As leaders gather in Kigali this week for the Africa CEO Forum, the focus is increasingly shifting from ambition to execution on how Africa can build durable industrial capacity for future generations. This summer, Bio Usawa is preparing to open an end-to-end biotechnology manufacturing facility in Kigali to support the production of biologic therapies for regional markets. The aim is to help ensure that therapies critical to cancer treatment and sight preservation are not luxuries, but reliably available medicines. For patients facing cancer or preventable blindness, these shifts are not abstract. They determine whether effective treatment is available or merely theoretical. Platforms worth returning to are finally emerging. Those who help build them will shape Africa’s healthcare future and the lives of millions who depend on it. The writer is Co-founder, CEO, and President of Bio Usawa.
