From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has tasked pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria to tap into the opportunities and potential that abound in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
It explained that AfCFTA is a free trade area encompassing most of Africa, and was aimed at reducing tariffs among member states. The agency said AfCFTA covered policy areas such as trade facilitation and services, as well as regulatory measures such as sanitary standards and technical barriers to trade
NAFDAC specifically advised Nigerian pharmaceutical companies to develop quality products and services that would help them stand the competition and possibly dominate the international pharmaceutical market.
Its Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the advice in her submissions at the 50th anniversary of Daily-Need Industries Limited in Lagos.
She encouraged the pharmaceutical companies to harness the opportunities provided by AfCFTA and invade the African market with quality products that could be approved in the different countries.
A statement by her media consultant, Sayo Akintola, quoted the NAFDAC boss as reminding pharmaceutical firms to incorporate Research and Development (R&D) into the manufacturing environment, thereby, making products that would be acceptable across different divides in Africa.
She said creativity in manufacturing could be shown through targeted drive to achieve pre-qualification of facility and product, noting that it could also be done with the goal to get certification from WHO or as part of preparation for global trade through collaborative registration and reliance among regulators.
“This is being underscored today because of the AfCFTA agreement that allows free trade among African Countries. Nigerian pharmaceutical companies must be ready for trading their products across the continent with quality products that can be approved in the different countries through continental reliance among regulators,’’ she said.
She appreciated the strides that Daily-Need had made over the last 50 years, and expressed confidence that the diligence, strategic leadership and response to challenges through improvement in the manufacturing premise with continuous quality monitoring would dovetail into a future where innovation and creativity would be embraced for drug security, health security and subsequently, Universal Health Coverage (UHC).