The New Partnership for Africa’s Development Agency (NEPAD) has warned that it is only through joint government and regional regulatory bodies that the continent can get rid of counterfeit medicines and food that have currently plaguing the continent.

 “A single country cannot tackle this problem … we need to team up,”  the  Nepad Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, said yesterday during his official visit to the Tanzania Food and Drugs Regulatory Authority (TFDA) facilities in Dar es Salaam.

Nepad chief’s visit was aimed at inspecting progress being made by TFDA in ensuring quality and standard medicines and food. 

The continent’s economic development body finances East African Community’s (EAC) comprehensive project on harmonisation of medicines - regulatory systems in African region.

But Mayaki’s visit comes at a time when importation of counterfeit medicines and food products is increasingly becoming a headache on the continent, as illegal drug dealers invent more sophisticated manufacturing and importation techniques.

He admitted that is the stumbling blocks ahead of Africa’s war against massive circulation of counterfeit drugs, but noted that African governments and regulatory authorities need to employ joint approaches.

“Collaboration among governments and agents responsible for regulating standards and quality of these products is very important if they really want to succeed,” Mayaki said.

Describing TFDA as exemplary model, he said, the milestones recorded by the authority in checking quality and standard of locally manufactured and imported drugs could help other African countries in battling the menace.

“TFDA has all characteristics of being an institution of excellence…It has superb and up-to-date quality-assurance technologies, including competent human resource which could properly monitor movements of counterfeits,” he pointed out.

He said Nepad wants accumulated TFDA’s experience and know-how to be shared by other African countries.

“As a regional initiative, we want TFDA’s mode of operation and good performance be displayed to benefit other Africa countries in the SADC, Comesa and other African regional groupings.

He noted that it was through sharing of experience and combination of approaches that African countries could get rid of counterfeit medicines and food products, which he said was a serious problem currently ruining many poor economies.

TFDA Director General Hiiti Silo expressed optimism that harmonisation of EAC’s medicine regulatory systems under the Nepad -financed project could yield positive results in the bloc’s fight against fake and substandard drugs and thus serve as a model for other Africa countries to follow suit.

According to Sillo, the project which kick-started in 2009, seeks to regulate quality and standards guidelines and laws to check movement of counterfeit drugs across the country.

Chief Pharmacist Henry Irunde, reaffirmed government’s commitment to fully support to TFDA in the national drive to eliminate fake and substandard drugs, which he said pose a big threat to the lives of millions of Tanzanians.

“And we are glad that regional agencies, the likes of NEPAD, are also supporting us in these endevours. I am sure that the cooperation demonstrated by NEPAD and government would build the capacity of TFDA and other drugs-regulatory bodies in putting both dealers and counterfeits on check accountable, and get the entire African continent out of the mess,” observed the chief pharmacist.