By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The African Medicines Agency
(AMA) has called for stronger cooperation among national regulatory authorities
across Africa to improve access to safe, effective and quality-assured medical
products, while reducing duplication in regulatory processes.
AMA Director General Dr.
Delese Mimi Darko made the call during the inaugural AMA Week in Kigali,
Rwanda, where she met with heads of African National Regulatory Authorities
(NRAs) to discuss strengthening cooperation and advancing shared regulatory
priorities.
Darko said national
regulatory authorities were the foundation of a strong African Medicines
Agency, which was established to build on their strengths and bring them
together.
She said she was encouraged
by the commitment of members of the Network of Heads of African NRAs to shaping
the future of AMA, including discussions on how the Network should function,
continued support for the ratification of the AMA Treaty and efforts to
strengthen cooperation among members.
“We must continue building
trust and greater reliance among our national regulatory authorities,” Darko
said.
She noted that Africa had
considerable regulatory expertise across its Member States and that sharing
this expertise, relying on one another’s scientific work and reducing
unnecessary duplication could help establish a more efficient and harmonised
regulatory system.
Darko emphasised that AMA
was established to strengthen and complement national regulatory authorities,
not replace them, adding that national authorities remained central to
regulatory decision-making.
She said AMA’s role was to
support their capacities, facilitate cooperation and build on the work they
were already doing.
The meeting marked the
second gathering of the Network of Heads of African NRAs, following its first
meeting in January this year. Since then, AMA has launched the AfriVigilance
platform and developed the Regulatory Rapid Alert and Information Network to
facilitate the exchange of safety information and strengthen collective
responses to substandard and falsified medical products.
“These are practical
examples of what we can achieve when we connect our national regulatory systems
and work together,” Darko said.
During the meeting, Darko
congratulated Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, Director General of
Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control
(NAFDAC), on her election as Chair of the Network.
She also congratulated Dr.
Ange Mibindzou Mouelet, Director General of Gabon’s Agence Nationale du
Médicament et des Autres Produits de Santé, on his election as Co-Chair.
Darko expressed her
appreciation to the heads of national regulatory authorities for their
leadership, commitment and continued confidence in AMA, and said she looked
forward to working closely with the Network’s members to advance their shared
priorities.
