The Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has hosted its Rwandan counterpart under a series of training programs to ensure that country’s attainment of the World Health Organization Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) Maturity Level Three.
Attaining maturity level three means a regulatory authority is matured with a coordinated system in place to ensure that its drug regulations are done correctly.
The Global Benchmarking Tool, which is divided into four levels, is an instrument meant to strengthen medical product regulation and promote universal health coverage.
It represents the primary means by which the WHO objectively evaluates regulatory systems.
Also, it indicates a national medicine regulatory body’s system is well functioning and integrates all required elements to guarantee its stable performance.
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Ghana’s FDA, in April this year, became the second and one of the only two countries of WHO African Region’s 47 countries to have attained a Level Three ranking.
This means that the Authority had strengthened its medicines regulatory system to ensure the safety, quality and effectiveness of medical products manufactured, imported or distributed within the country.
The training was, therefore, held for a delegation of 10 officials from the Rwanda FDA, led by its Deputy Director General, Madam Umuhoza Martine, who visited Ghana on a five-day study tour from September 26 to 30, 2022.
The visit follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two FDAs on June 24, 2022.
At a ceremony to mark the end of the study tour, Mr Seth Kwaku Seaneke, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, in charge of Health and Technologies, FDA, said the training was to help the Rwandan FDA, a new regulatory authority, to be trained to achieve it maturity level three status, among other things.
They discussed the scope of operations, especially in Market Authorization and Pharmacovigilance, he said.
The training also sought to strengthen Rawand’s technical operations, enhance participants knowledge in the enforcement of good manufacturing, clinical and distribution practices as well as the adoption of a risk-based approach to regulatory inspections and laboratory testing.
Mr Seaneke, while congratulating the delegation on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Delese Darko, for their hard work and dedication towards the training, described the programme as mutually beneficial.
He said Ghana’s FDA looked forward to augmenting “this partnership for the advancement of the course of effective continental medicine regulation.”
Dr Raymond Muganga, the Division Manager, Quality Control Laboratory, Rwanda FDA, expressed gratitude to Ghana for the unique learning opportunity.
He said through the training, his team had acquired a lot of knowledge to build members’ capacity and preparation towards the attainment of WHO Maturity Level Three soon.
The Rwanda FDA looked forward to further peer learning opportunities with Ghana for coaching and mentorship, Dr Muganga said.
Meanwhile, during the study tour, the participants conducted a ‘Good Manufacturing Practices’ inspection at Unichem Ghana Ltd, as well as Good Distribution and Storage Practice inspection at East Cantonments Pharmacy Ltd to enhance their knowledge and skills.
