Supplying Medicines and Supplements to Senegal

Senegal's regulator, the Agence sénégalaise de Réglementation Pharmaceutique (ARP), was set up in 2022, and in 2024 it became the first French-speaking African regulator to reach WHO maturity level 3. Registration follows the shared rules of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

Imports were worth around €310 million in 2023, about 70% of them for the private market. The government is also pushing local production, with a target of 50% by 2035, and that shapes what you can import.

Senegal at a glance

How to supply medicines to Senegal

1. Check the suspension list first. The first list covered indapamide, levofloxacin, omeprazole, albendazole, ibuprofen and a diclofenac–paracetamol combination. Check whether it has been renewed or extended before you quote.
2. Prepare the dossier. A CTD dossier with Module 1 in French, a CoPP and the plant's GMP evidence.
3. Choose the route. National registration with the ARP under UEMOA rules, typically about 120 days and up to a year with questions, or the ECOWAS joint assessment if you also want other West African markets.
4. Supply. The private market runs through large wholesaler-importers, with prices set by fixed coefficients on the landed price. PNA buys for the public sector.

For unregistered products, the ARP has a temporary authorisation (ATU) route, and UEMOA rules allow a special import authorisation for exceptional public-health needs. See named-patient and special import and government tender supply.

Supplements

Confirm with the ARP how your supplement will be classified before you print labels, and keep health claims off the pack. We help brands get supplements made under their own label by GMP-certified contract manufacturers: see nutraceutical private label.

What people in Senegal search for

Semrush data from October 2026 shows that people in Senegal search in French: “vitamine b12” and “vitamine c” get about 1,900 searches a month each, “vitamine d” 1,300, “collagène” 1,000 and “proteine” 880.

Google Keyword Planner shows the everyday French terms at scale: “médicaments”, “pharmacie”, “pharmacie de garde”, “vitamine”, “vitamine c”, “vitamine d” and “collagène” each get between 1,000 and 10,000 searches a month, and so do generic names such as “amoxicilline”, “azithromycine” and “ciprofloxacine” (October 2026).

How importers and wholesalers in Senegal search

Buyers search the institutions by name: “arp sénégal” and “pna sénégal” each get between 100 and 1,000 searches a month, as does “compléments alimentaires” (Google Keyword Planner). Trade phrases such as “grossiste pharmaceutique sénégal” or “distributeur de médicaments” register only weakly.

Originator brands searched by name include Flagyl (metronidazole), Spasfon (phloroglucinol) and Inexium (esomeprazole). Brand names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the medicine.

Supplements we can help you make

Often searched medicines include amoxicillin, azithromycin and ciprofloxacin. Some examples we list:

Documents to ask your supplier for

• A Certificate of a Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) in WHO format.
• The plant's GMP evidence, such as a WHO-GMP, EU-GMP or PIC/S certificate, plus any inspection by your regulator.
• The registration dossier (CTD or ACTD), with bioequivalence data for generics where required.
• Stability data for hot climates.
• A Certificate of Analysis for every batch.

Not sure a supplier is genuine? Read how to verify a pharmaceutical supplier. For the neighbouring markets, see our Sub-Saharan Africa import guide.

Frequently asked questions