Addis Ababa, 6 August 2015 (WIC) – The three-day First Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Regional Regulatory Authority Conference was opened on Monday (August 3,2015) in Addis Ababa, MoFA reported.
The conference aims to develop a policy framework and regulatory system for the strengthening of pharmaceuticals and medical products and quality assurance, with possible harmonization among the IGAD Member States.
Organized by IGAD in close association with the Ethiopian government and other partners in the region like: NEPAD, WHO, USP/PQM and UNFPA, the conference brought together regulatory authority and health sector representatives from IGAD Member States.
Dr Kesete Admasu, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, attending the conference urged the gathering to deliberate on ways of “expediting Africa’s venture to be self-sufficient in pharmaceutical production.”
Dr. Kesete also stressed that the conference ought to be a platform to create mechanisms for information exchange amongst drug regulatory authorities of Member States.
Dr. Keste noting that “innovations should be rolled out to enable the public in identifying substandard, falsely labeled, falsified, and counterfeit medicines” underlined the need for more collaboration amongst the Member States of IGAD to build a robust human resource in regulatory science.
A statement issued by IGAD Secretariat related that the conference is a window of opportunity for IGAD States and their partners for collaboration: “a step towards the protection of the population of IGAD Member States from Substandard, Spurious, Falsely labeled Falsified Counterfeit (SSFFC), medical products, and promotes availability of quality medicines and medical products in the region.”