African Medicines Agency convenes laboratory network to strengthen drug quality systems across Africa
Date: 2026-05-29
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The African Medicines Agency
has convened the 2nd Meeting of the Network of African Reliance Laboratories
(NARL) in Accra, Ghana, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen regulatory
harmonisation and improve the quality assurance of medicines and health products
across the continent.
The three-day meeting,
brought together laboratory experts, regulatory authorities, and health
stakeholders to advance the operational framework guiding the Network of
African Reliance Laboratories under the leadership of the African Medicines
Agency.
According to the agency, the
NARL initiative is designed to promote laboratory reliance, enhance regulatory
convergence, and strengthen quality control systems across African member
states. It also seeks to improve coordination among laboratories involved in
the testing of vaccines, medicines, and medical devices.
Discussions at the meeting
focused on finalising key operational tools and frameworks to support the
effective functioning of the network. These included the draft Terms of
Reference for NARL under the African Medicines Agency framework, as well as
standardised templates and toolkits for testing result reporting, quality
assurance processes, product-specific guidance, and annual reporting
mechanisms.
The African Medicines Agency
said the development of these tools is critical to ensuring consistency,
reliability, and transparency in laboratory testing and regulatory processes
across participating countries.
Through NARL, the agency is
working to build a trusted network of African laboratories capable of
strengthening post-market surveillance systems and improving the detection of
substandard and falsified medical products.
The initiative forms part of
broader continental efforts to enhance regulatory capacity, support public
health systems, and ensure access to safe and effective medical products across
Africa.
