The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, weekend assured Nigerians that COVID-19 vaccines produced in Nigeria will meet international standards with the strengthening of the agency.
The Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye who asserted during the oversight visit to the NAFDAC facilities and COVID-19 laboratory projects in Lagos by the House of Representatives Committee on COVID-19 weekend described the Federal government’s huge spending on the fight against COVID-19 as demonstrated by the construction of the new COVID-19 laboratory with modern instruments and amenities as a wake-up call for the country.
To ensure that the health sector is strengthened, the NAFDAC boss insisted that the regulatory Agency must be strengthened. “If the regulatory agency is not strengthened, the industry will not be strengthened.
“We have the African Free trade Agreement already here with us now for the nation’s pharmaceutical industry to take advantage of with quality products. There will be a lot of competition and if NAFDAC’s laboratory is not strengthened, we will not be able to compete”.
“For Vaccine, we are hoping that the vaccine facilities from the public-private partnership will soon happen”, warning that “but if the regulatory agency is not strong, we can make a vaccine that will destroy our people”.
With NAFDAC now very strong with WHO Maturity Level 3 certification, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye enthused that “Nigeria can now make her vaccines and we can assure the populace that there is quality in whatever is being manufactured because of NAFDAC’s strength”.
On the impact that the COVID-19 fund has made, she said this should resonate well with the whole country that if you put the right people in the right places, then the vision of the government can be realized.
“Whatever approvals that are being given by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on funding our activities, you can touch such and this is what has happened here today”, Prof. Adeyeye excitedly told the visiting lawmakers.
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She commended the House COVID-19 committee, and the Healthcare Services Committee of the 9th Assembly for committing to ensuring that NAFDAC as a regulatory agency is known internationally.
Speaking, Chairman, House Committee on COVID-19, Dr Haruna Mshelia commended the DG NAFDAC and her management team for leveraging the latest technology to upgrade the Agency to a standard that is next to none in Africa.
“We have seen with our eyes how they have leveraged the latest technology to upgrade the organization to a standard that is next to none in Africa. I think they need to be commended. We have seen the warehouse. We have now seen the laboratory which is under construction. They have gone very far, and the standard of the construction is good”, he said.
“We have also seen the equipment waiting to be installed in the laboratories. I have to say kudos to the DG and her team for getting good value for money. Other Agencies should come to NAFDAC and learn how they have leveraged ICT to move their organization forward so that everywhere our standard can be uplifted with everyone seeing it.
Vanguard News Nigeria