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By Doris Obinna
Nigeria has formally joined the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty, becoming the 34th African Union member state to ratify the agreement in a major boost to efforts to strengthen medicines regulation and fight fake and substandard drugs across the continent.
The announcement was made by the African Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Amb. A. Twum-Amoah, at the ongoing inaugural AMA Week in Kigali, Rwanda.
The AMA is a continental body established to strengthen the regulation of medicines and medical products, ensuring they meet required standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
Nigeria’s ratification signals its commitment to a coordinated African regulatory system aimed at protecting public health, promoting local drug manufacturing and improving access to safe, effective and affordable medicines.
Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who attended the conference, described the development as a major step towards strengthening Africa’s health security and pharmaceutical sovereignty.
Adeyeye said Nigeria’s position as Africa’s most populous country and one of its largest pharmaceutical markets would strengthen the continent’s collective efforts to harmonise medicines regulation.
She said the development would deepen cooperation between NAFDAC, AMA and other national and regional regulatory agencies, particularly in regulatory capacity building, information sharing and scientific collaboration.
The NAFDAC boss, however, stressed that ratification must translate into concrete action through sustained institutional cooperation and effective implementation of the treaty.
She said AMA’s success would ultimately depend on its ability to ensure that Africans have access to safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable medicines, backed by stronger national regulatory agencies.
Adeyeye described Nigeria’s ratification as more than a diplomatic or legal achievement, saying it represented a significant investment in Africa’s health security, pharmaceutical sovereignty and sustainable development.
