The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in collaboration with the United States Pharmacopeial Convention has held a 3-day inaugural meeting of the Working Group on Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM+).
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FDA, Delese Darko, the PQM+ will sustainably strengthen medical product quality assurance in the country.
She said “Working with medicines regulatory authorities like the FDA and other stakeholders in this program will increase the supply of quality essential medical products through capacity building of local manufacturers towards WHO pre-qualifications and Ghana Standards Authority criteria”
She further detailed that, the PQM+ plans to help improve the capacity of the FDA to conduct post-market surveillance by introducing a new risk-based approach that requires the participation of diverse groups that play a critical role in the quality assurance of medicines in the country.
The project seeks to support and assess the level of progress of three selected local manufacturers of Artemether/Lumefantrine and improve the quality of oxytocin and iron + folic acid supplements on the Ghanaian market.
Madam Darko encouraged members of the working group to seize the opportunity to build their capacity in the management of the quality of health products marketed in Ghana and contribute their quota to fight against substandard and falsified medicines.
The Deputy Chief Executive (DCE), Technical Operations Division, Akua Amartey, on her part said “The adoption of this new approach to Post-Market Surveillance is key to ensuring quality medical products on the market”
She pledged the support of the FDA and lauded the efforts by the stakeholders to implement strategies of this new approach.
The program was attended by representatives from the FDA, National Malaria Control Program, National AIDS/HIV Control Program, National Tuberculosis Control Program, Expanded Programme on Immunization, Pharmacy Council, National Health Insurance Authority, Ghana Health Service, and the PQM+ West Africa Team.
The program which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was held from the 14th to 16th of April 2021 at the African Regent Hotel in Accra.
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith