Nigeria Becomes 34th AU Member State to Ratify African Medicine Treaty, NAFDAC DG Reveals

Nigeria has become the 34th member state to ratify the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty, marking a historic milestone for medicines regulation and public health on the continent, according to the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye. The ratification was disclosed at the inaugural African Medicines Agency Week, currently underway in Kigali, Rwanda, by Amb.

A. Twum-Amoah, the Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development of the African Union. The AMA Week conference, chaired by Director General Dr. Delese Mimi Darko, involves representatives of medicines regulatory agencies across Africa, Regional Economic Communities, and global health stakeholders, including the World Health Organization and the European Union.

Adeyeye emphasized that Nigeria’s ratification bolsters the collective aspiration for a harmonized regulatory framework for medicines and medical products, underlining the nation's dedication to upholding public health, curbing substandard and falsified medical products, fostering pharmaceutical innovation, and advancing local manufacturing.

She stressed that the development provides an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between NAFDAC, the African Medicines Agency, and other national and regional regulatory bodies in pursuit of shared health objectives. Adeyeye highlighted that Nigeria’s participation should now translate into concrete actions through sustained institutional collaboration, regulatory capacity building, information exchange, scientific cooperation, and effective implementation of the AMA Treaty.

She underscored that the true measure of the African Medicines Agency's success will be its role in ensuring that every African has access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable medicines, ultimately driven by the maturity of national regulatory agencies.