Meeting to implement North African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation Initiative kicks off in Tunis

Meeting to implement North African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation Initiative kicks off in Tunis

16/04/2024 17:44, TUNIS/Tunisia

Tunis, 16 April (TAP)-Participants in the preliminary meeting for the implementation of the North African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation Initiative (NA-MRHI), which began work on Tuesday and will continue until April 18, stressed the need to speed up the adoption and implementation of regulatory frameworks for the medicines industry, quality control and improved marketing.

The main objective of the meeting is to consider and lay the foundations for the implementation of the initiative to harmonise the regulation of medicinal products in North Africa.

The meeting was attended by Health Minister Ali Mrabet, adviser to the World Health Organisation’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO Emro) Houda Langar, AUDA-NEPAD representative Chimwemwe Chamdimba, and several health sector officials from North African countries.

This meeting, the first of its kind, provides an important opportunity for North African countries to step up their efforts to coordinate regulations and laws in the pharmaceuticals and medicines sector, Minister Ali Mrabet told TAP. “The aim is to promote this industry, improve the quality of medicines and controls, and streamline their marketing in the promising African market.”

This meeting is part of the national strategy for the promotion and development of the Tunisian pharmaceutical industry, he stressed, indicating that the establishment of a National Agency for Medicines will encompass many departments involved in the pharmaceutical sector. This will contribute to the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Tunisia and improve its quality and its promotion nationally and internationally.

Mrabet emphasised that the National Agency for Medicines will make it possible to reduce the time taken to grant licences for the promotion of medicines to manufacturing companies to a reasonable time, with the aim of developing the Tunisian pharmaceutical industry, attracting investment in the pharmaceutical sector and supplying medicines to the local market, as well as developing exports.

For her part, Houda Langar told TAP that this meeting, organised in partnership between the WHO and the African Union, aims to unify the efforts of the countries of North Africa in the field of the control of medicines, the development of the pharmaceutical industry and the coordination of regulations between these countries, with the aim of facilitating the process of promoting and marketing medicines in Africa.

She pointed out that the World Health Organisation is playing an active role in partnership with the African Union in order to motivate the countries of North Africa to work together to overcome all obstacles at legislative level in order to improve Africans’ access to safe and effective medicines.