The current Pharmaceuticals Fund and Supply Agency was first established in 1947 with a capital of 80 million birr under the name “the main Pharmacy.” The military regime then restructured “the main Pharmacy” in 1976. Organizations that carried out similar activities were merged to create a new organization called Ethiopian Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies Corporation (EPHARMECOR).
The main task of EPHARMECOR was to distribute human, animal and plant pharmaceuticals and medical supplies it manufactured and imported from abroad. However, the steady plunge in the corporation’s capital and the subsequent weakened supply necessitated another restructuring which came during the period of the transitional government in 1994. Accordingly, the transitional government allocated a huge budget to bridge the pharmaceutical gap and restructured EPHARMECOR into a new organization called Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies Importer and wholesale Distributor (PHARMED).
PHARMED had over 400 workers back then and distributed two-hundred eighty million birr worth of Pharmaceuticals and medical supplies primarily to governmental health institutions. Seeking to ensure the organization fulfils its mission optimally, it was restructured eight years later, in 2002, as a share company that distributes pharmaceuticals and medical supplies purchased locally and from overseas.
Taking the changes in the sector into consideration, PHARMED was once again re-established with reformed vision, mission and goals in 2007 under proclamation No. 553/2007 bearing the name “Pharmaceutical Fund and Supply Agency (PFSA).” PFSA is structured to sustainably supply basic pharmaceuticals used for treating the main health problems in the country along with medical equipment and to consider the purchasing capacity of the society in providing its services.
PFSA has once again changed its name at the beginning of the 2019 to “Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Agency(EPSA).” Despite the changes in organizational structure, naming and goal throughout its history, the institution’s primary activity has always been supplying pharmaceuticals and medical equipment mainly to governmental health institutions.
