By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Director General, National Agency for Food Drug and Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency has been characterized as maturity level 3 regulatory agency by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Speaking on Wednesday during a press conference to announce the new development, Adeyeye said Nigeria is currently 3rd in Africa.
She said the development means that the country has the capacity to manufacture vaccine that can be acceptable globally.
“With this feat, any drug we approve here can be traded globally. We have already started the process with the construction of a vaccine laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos.
“We are working on level 4. This will also bring good news to our pharmaceutical companies in the country.
“This has also shown that our laboratory testing is at the best stage, the quality of drug are better, market control is better, and registration of products, which they saw improvements despite few challenges.
“These are continuous quality improvement. Even when we get to level 4, they will be monitoring us. They will be coming after every three years to make sure we are keeping our standards.
Speaking further, she said the feat was achieved through the tremendous support of President Muhammadu Buhari who magnanimously gave seven hundred and thirty-six million to equip our laboratories.
According to her,” When I came on board, 70 to 80 per cent of our laboratories equipment were not working and President Buhari intervened and gave us seven hundred and thirty-six million (736 million) to equip our laboratories.
” President Buhari also gave us four billion to buy more equipment and build a vaccine laboratory which is almost completed. it is the tools that earn us this, and I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his kind gestures.
“We are already working on Maturity Level four which will enable any products we approved as a regulatory agency to be traded globally. Since we don’t produce, the pharmaceutical companies that produce will have a larger market
” There is no fear on our side getting certification for maturity four because we have our template and we have been recertified by WHO since 2019, once we get recertified by November this year, we start self-auditing, which is going to keep us on our toes. This has to be sustained because they will be coming every three years”, she said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, NAFDAC Governing Board, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman said this feat cannot be possible without the support of the government and the hard work of the DG and staff of NAFDAC.
According to him, “The certification to Maturity level 3 by WHO is an indication that NAFDAC is well functioning and global agency.”
