The West African Health Organization (WAHO) has extended its congratulations to Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for achieving World Health Organization (WHO) Maturity Level 3 for National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs).
NAFDAC is now the second NMRA in West Africa and one of four in Africa to reach this level, joining Tanzania, Ghana, and Egypt. WAHO expressed its felicitations to the Director-General of NAFDAC, the Honourable Minister of Health of Nigeria, as well as the Government and People of Nigeria for this international recognition. The milestone highlights Nigeria's strong regulatory performance, governance, and autonomy in medicine regulation.
Improving regulatory systems within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region has been a priority for WAHO. The organization has provided technical and financial support to all NMRAs over recent years with assistance from international partners. In 2017, following an analysis identifying gaps in performance among the region’s 15 NMRAs, WAHO collaborated with WHO to introduce Institutional Development Plans aligned with WHO’s Global Benchmarking Tool.
These efforts have led to significant improvements across Pharmaceuticals Quality Management and Regulatory systems within the region. Five NMRAs have achieved ISO 9001-2015 accreditation internationally while seven National Medicines Quality Control Laboratories integrated within NMRAs have obtained ISO 17025 certification.
Ghana's Food and Drug Authority reached WHO Maturity Level 3 in April 2020. This week marks another achievement with Nigeria’s NAFDAC joining this group.
WAHO remains committed to working alongside all National Medicines Regulatory Authorities in the region to achieve higher international standards. This collaboration aims at strengthening regional joint regulatory assessment procedures and enhancing medicines and vaccines production capacities.
Once more, congratulations are extended to Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on their success.
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