Nigeria has deposited its instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty becoming the 34th African Union member state to ratify the agreement to strengthen medicines regulation and public health across the continent.
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye announced the development during the inaugural African Medicines Agency Week in Kigali Rwanda.
The conference held from October 25 to 30 brought together medicines regulatory agencies regional economic communities the World Health Organisation (WHO) the European Union and other international health partners.
Adeyeye said Nigeria’s participation would strengthen efforts to harmonise medicines regulation across Africa improve public health protection and combat substandard and falsified medical products.
She added that the ratification would also create opportunities for deeper cooperation between NAFDAC the AMA and other national and regional regulatory institutions.
According to her Nigeria’s position as Africa’s most populous country and one of its largest pharmaceutical markets makes its participation significant to the continent’s efforts to build a more coordinated and effective regulatory system.
Adeyeye said the development reinforced Nigeria’s commitment to promoting pharmaceutical innovation strengthening local drug manufacturing and improving health security.
She however stressed the need to translate the ratification into practical results through sustained institutional collaboration regulatory capacity development information sharing and scientific cooperation.
The NAFDAC chief said the AMA’s success would ultimately depend on its ability to ensure that Africans have access to safe effective quality-assured and affordable medicines.
She noted that the maturity and capacity of national medicines regulatory agencies would be critical to achieving the agency’s objectives.
Adeyeye described Nigeria’s ratification as more than a diplomatic or legal achievement saying it was an investment in Africa’s health security pharmaceutical sovereignty and sustainable development.
The agency’s Director-General Dr Delese Mimi Darko led the inaugural AMA Week alongside members of its Governing Board representatives of the Conference of State Parties and the African Union Special Envoy.
Adeyeye attended the meeting with the Director of NAFDAC’s Central Drug Control Laboratory and the Director-General’s Special Assistant.