Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals   Supply  Agency,  EPSA,  is  legal  entity  established  under  the  law  of  Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Government to overcome the problems and assure uninterrupted supply of pharmaceuticals to the public at an affordable price. The Pharmaceuticals Fund and Supply Agency was established in September 2007 by Proclamation No. 553/2007 as part of Pharmaceutical Logistic Master Plan implementation with the following objectives:

i.      To enable public health institutions to supply quality assured essential pharmaceuticals at affordable prices in a sustainable manner to the public;

ii.      To play a complementary role in developmental efforts for health service expansion and strengthening by ensuring enhanced and sustainable supply of pharmaceuticals;

iii.      To create enabling conditions for enhancing the accumulation of funds in its     revolving and cost recovery process and thereby ensure the realization of  the          objectives

To be the most responsive and efficient pharmaceutical supply chain organization in Africa

“Ensure sustainable supply of quality assured pharmaceuticals to health facilities at affordable price through establishing committed demand, pooled procurement, robust inventory management and distribution, efficient financial management, integrated management information system, and attracting and retaining motivated and competent workforce.”

• Customer first
• Integrity
• Be Role model
• Professionalism
• Impartiality
• Respectful to the law
• Change/Innovation

• Adequate and uninterrupted supply
• Quality assured health products throughout supply chain
• Affordability
• Equity
• Integrated approach
• Partnership
• Responsiveness

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.