NEPAD and others to launch Medicines Registration Harmonisation for East Africa

The NEPAD Agency will on Friday, March 30, launch the East African Community (EAC) Medicines Registration Harmonisation (MRH) Project to promote the harmonization of medicines registration in the Region.

The project is a key contributor to public health and leads to rapid access to good quality, safe and effective medicines for priority diseases.

The launch in Arusha, Tanzania, will be done on behalf of African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH), World Health Organisation (WHO), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank, UK Department for International Development (DfID), and Clinton Health Access Initiative.

A release issued by NEPAD Office in South Africa and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said the launch would mark the beginning of the implementation phase of the AMRH Programme across Africa and a milestone reached towards improving access to essential medicines for priority diseases in Africa.

Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD Agency, noted that “The regulation of medicines and harmonization of technical standards and legislative frameworks have emerged as important components of the regional economic integration efforts”.

He said essential medicines save lives and improved health when they were available, affordable, of assured quality and used rationally.

However, lack of access to essential medicines remained one of the most serious global public health problems.

Africa’s Regions have similar health and technological challenges and relatively low levels of investment in health research, drug discovery and pharmaceutical development, compared to other continents.

“Countries in Africa are struggling to produce, procure and make safe and essential medicines available to their populations.

"This is mainly because of limited budgets, lack of adequate infrastructure and human resources and a range of regulatory barriers including weak and or absent medicine legislations and legal frameworks,” the release added.

After series of rigorous consultations with stakeholders and industry, AMRH partners have successfully finalized and secured funding for the EAC MRH Project.

In addition, proposals for SADC and ECOWAS Regions are at an advanced stage for donor consideration.**