By Chioma Obinna

THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has urged other government agencies, international community, regulatory bodies and all stakeholders in the regulatory sector to embrace effective regulation and collaboration with a view to delivering quality products for final consumers.

Chairperson, Association for Good Clinical Practice in Nigeria , AGCPN, Professor Ifeoma Okoye, Director Registration and Regulatory Affairs, NAFDAC, Dr. Monica Eimunjeze and DG, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, during the presentation of award of excellence to DG, NAFDAC by the Association for Good Clinical Practice in Nigeria, AGCPN, at the 3rd Nigeria Clinical Trial Summit, held at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos recently.

Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, who stressed the need for effective collaboration among all stakeholders, said collaborative efforts will definitely play a significant role to ensuring effective regulation. Orhii who spoke at the 2nd NAFDAC Regulatory Forum with the theme “Leveraging Collaborative Efforts to Ensure Effective Regulation” in Lagos, said effective regulation was key to ensuring access to safe products of good quality.

He said adopting such approach would bring about increase regulatory capacity, improved regulatory infrastructure, private sector participation, confidence in the systems and also strengthen the regulatory processes. Orhii said the essence of control and regulation was to protect public health by ensuring that only quality regulated products that are safe, efficacious and wholesome reach the market, and ultimately the consuming public.

Earlier, the Director, Registration & Regulatory Affairs of NAFDAC, Dr. Monica Hemben Eimunjeze, said the Agency remained resolute in commitment to building stronger local, regional and international networks. Eimunjeze further testified that collaborative efforts have resulted in considerable gains for the Agency’s regulatory capacity both in terms of human capacity development and infrastructure.

“This has also impacted on the regulated sector with notable and remarkable achievements being made in the pharmaceutical industry as a result of positive engagements between NAFDAC, WHO, and the USP to mention a few.

Our collaboration with stakeholders groups such as the AFBTE and pharmaceutical companies such as Roche, Sanofi, L’Oreal and Novartis have resulted in shared training and resource which have boosted our capacity building efforts within the Agency and for other healthcare professionals.”

Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, PMG-MAN, Okey Akpa, said effective collaboration enabled four Nigerian pharmaceutical companies to get the World Health Organisation pre-qualification for their products, insisting that the measure has yielded unparallel result in the system.

Also speaking, Chairman, Technical Committee of the Association of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employers, AFBTE, Fred Chiazor said regulations and responsibilities should be clearly spelt out and understood. Chiazor identified multiple laws, overlapping functions of government agencies and multiple levies as challenges confronting effective regulation in Nigeria.