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- Says Nigeria must not wait for another pandemic
By Doris Obinna
The Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has urged pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nigeria to invest in human vaccine production to ensure the country’s preparedness for future pandemics.
Speaking in Abuja, Adeyeye cautioned that Nigeria must not wait for another pandemic before taking action, recalling how the country relied heavily on international donors during the COVID-19 crisis. She explained that NAFDAC had restructured its operations to improve efficiency and transparency, creating a dedicated directorate for vaccines, biologics, and medical devices in November 2024 to align with global regulatory standards.
Adeyeye noted that NAFDAC achieved the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Maturity Level 3 (ML3) for medicines and imported vaccines in 2022, a key requirement for any country seeking to produce WHO-prequalified vaccines. The agency is now working toward attaining ML3 for locally manufactured vaccines.
She emphasised that NAFDAC remains the only regulatory agency in sub-Saharan Africa with an in-house laboratory for vaccines, biologics, and medical devices, unlike South Africa, which relies on outsourced facilities. According to her, NAFDAC has already met most WHO indicators for vaccine lot release but needs local vaccine production to complete the benchmarking process.
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Adeyeye expressed optimism that vaccine production would begin before the end of her tenure, stressing that Nigeria must stop depending on foreign countries for essential medical supplies. She added that the country has capable scientists and a favourable policy environment under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to support local manufacturing.
Similarly, the Director of Vaccines, Biologics, and Medical Devices Registration and Regulatory Affairs, Mrs. Khadijah Ade-Abolade, said the federal government had established policies and provided support to kick-start local vaccine manufacturing. She confirmed that NAFDAC’s regulatory framework covering market authorisation, inspections, clinical trials oversight, and post-market surveillance is fully functional and ready for use once production begins.
Adeyeye concluded by stating that Nigeria has the capacity to begin with “Fill and Finish” vaccine production while developing full-scale manufacturing, calling on private investors to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen national health security.
