As part of the need to ensure the availability of medicines to Africans as well as to discourage the abuse of medicines, stakeholders in the legal and pharmaceutical industry have critically apprised the regulatory laws guiding pharmacy and medicine in Nigeria and Africa in general.
This appraisal was done on Tuesday 29th August, 2017 at the second plenary session of International Conference on: Improving Access to Quality Medicines through Appropriate Legislations and Policies organised by the Centre for Drug Discovery, Development and Production (CDDDP), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan.
In his paper titled: A Critique of Relevant Laws Governing Medicine Regulatory in Nigeria, the Chairman Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Board of Fellows, Barrister Chinedu Mordi described some of the regulatory laws of guiding pharmacy and medicine in Nigeria as obsolete.
While noting that medicines and pharmaceutical chemicals are prone to adulteration and misuse, Barr Mordi, who is also a Pharmacist, explained that it is important that laws and regulations be implemented to prevent medicine misuse and abuse, as well as to keep dispensation of drugs in order.
Barr Mordi identified various laws and acts that were enacted over the years to regulate access to medicine in Nigeria to include; Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Act of 1982, Poisons and Pharmacy Laws, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Act as well as Counterfeit and Adulterated Drug Act.
In his paper titled ‘African Union Model Law on Medical Product Regulation’, the Senior Programme Officer of African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH), Paul Tanui expounded on overview and benefits of the African Union Model Law on Medical Products Regulation and Harmonisation in Africa.
He explained that as a result of the obsolete nature of the some of the medical laws, the Pan African Parliament requested New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to come up with new pharmaceutical laws and regulatory systems – a request which birthed the African Union (AU) Model Law.
According to Pharmacist Tanui, the AU Model Law on Medical Products Regulation and Harmonisation in Africa was officially endorsed in Ethiopia in 2016. He noted that the AU Model Law aims to address legislative gaps that hamper effective medicines regulation and regional harmonisation
He further stated that the AU Model Law was enacted to ensure a systematic approach for the development of a harmonised legislation on medicines regulation in African countries, adding that the major benefit of the law is to safeguard public health.
While acknowledging the importance of passing laws that will regulate medicine and pharmaceutical products in Africa, both speakers at the second plenary of the conference however, stressed that the government must have the political will to implement these enacted laws in order to ensure good health care delivery in Africa.
