Foods and Drug regulators in Africa have been
advised to form a joint venture in the fight against counterfeits through
regional integration as the best way to curb substandard products in the
African market. It has been established.
Speaking to reporters in a news conference in Dar es
Salaam on Wednesday during his official visit to the Tanzania Food and Drugs
Authority (TFDA) headquarters, New Partnership for Africa’s Development Agency
(NEPAD) Chief Executive Officer Dr Ibrahim Mayaki said that regional
integration will foster the fight against counterfeit and substandard products
in the African continent.
“Regional integration in Africa is crucial step
against counterfeit in the national, regional and continental level and it will
assist them to form common regional policies to control substandard products in
the market.
He further said that it will be easy for the
regulators to control the problem of counterfeit after they join efforts
together through regional integration which would set standards to control the
malpractice in the market.
Dr Mayaki noted that the authority in Tanzania
should rethink on how to share experience with other authorities in the East
African Community member states as part of the efforts to build mutual
cooperation in the region.
“TFDA should strength and recruits quality human
resources to foster social and economic development at the national and
regional level, he said.
He hailed the achievement made by the authority to
establish a project using nuclear technology to monitor the quality of food and
drugs for improving food safety mechanism in the country.
“I am glad to be here today to share experience with
the Tanzanians experts on food and drugs as its character of the institute to
evaluate performance of the African’s development in the national, regional and
continental level,” he said.
He said that the East African Community (EAC) is one
of the regional blocs that have made various achievements since its
establishment 13 years ago and vivid example to other Africans bloc in the
continent.
Dr Mayaki added that the TFDA has made a remarkable
achievement for the establishment of the project with international and
acceptable standards to monitor foods and drugs which is unique in the East
Africa and Africa at large.
He further said that the international institutes
such as NEPAD will continue to work closer with the foods and drugs authorities
in the East Africa and Africa to foster the fight against counterfeit and
substandard products in the African market.
On his part the TFDA Director General Hiiti Silo
said that the authority would continue to improve its inspection of
counterfeits of goods and implementing international and acceptable standards
for controlling foods and drugs for the safety of the consumers and public
health.
Sillo added that he project of nuclear technology will
enhance its laboratory’s capacity to promote safe food and develop a laboratory
quality management system.
“The authority would continue to protect and promote
public health by ensuring safety, quality and effectiveness of food, medicines,
cosmetics and medical devices,” he said.
He said that the authority is working closely with
other regional agencies to ensure the East African countries are adopting the
harmonization and regional acceptable standards in the region.
“We are now implementing our new five-year strategic
plan from 2012 to 2017. Among targets of this plan is to equip the TFDA
laboratory to analyse veterinary drugs and pesticide residues in food by June
2015,” he said.
He said TFDA’s capacity of protecting human health
had greatly improved. For the past three years it has been able to analyse over
500 samples of wheat, maize and rice consignments for the presence of
mycotoxins and heavy metal metals, he noted.
Henry Irunde Chief Pharmacist from the Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare said that the government would continue to support
the authority to curb substandard of goods and products in the market.
He said that although the TFDA is one of the leading
regulators in East Africa and Africa but its deserve mutual support from other
international bodies to curb counterfeit in the continent.
Ends.
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