The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has attained the World Health Organization maturity level 3 regulatory agency status. NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja, said with this feat Nigeria’s made products would be accepted globally. She further hinted that NAFDAC would soon start manufacturing vaccines in the country based on the latest recognition by WHO.
Adeyeye said the development equally indicated that NAFDAC had raised its bar in clinical trials, guidelines and procedures, regulatory inspection, laboratory listings, market control, and other regulators, among others. She attributed the success of her agency to the dedication and commitment of staff to improving the standard. According to her, the road to success began a few weeks after she assumed duty in 2018, following her appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari to take over the affairs of the agency as director-general.
She said, “We started this journey in January 2018, five weeks after my resumption as NAFDAC Director-General. It was a torturous, tasking and highly demanding journey, but I went through it with the support of my directors, governing council and other staff who made different kinds of sacrifices towards the realisation of the goal.” She explained that, “When we started, WHO listed 868 recommendations which we must meet before we get to maturity level three status. Initially, it sounded impossible, but my directors stood by me all the way, in addition to many others who did all forms of sacrifices to ensure we achieve the feat.”
She spoke further: “In June 2019, WHO officials visited NAFDAC headquarters in Abuja to commence the benchmarking process. Out of the 868 recommendations they listed, we were able to meet over 600 of them and were left with 147 items which were the most difficult ones at that time.
