The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) last week hosted a stakeholder meeting, the first of its kind, to update stakeholders on the Authority’s regulatory activities and 2022 achievements.
The meeting, which was held at the Authority’s Head Office in Shiashie, formed part of FDA’s performance monitoring indicators and targets instituted with the support of the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA).
The meeting created a platform for the Authority to engage with stakeholders, solicit stakeholder feedback on the Authority’s performance and suggest areas for improvement, as well as promote awareness and understanding of the Authority’s role in protecting public health and safety.
Evaluating its performance, the FDA presented the highlights of last year’s performance, including product registration and facility licencing against its performance in 2021.
For instance, the Authority recorded a 24 per cent increase in the number of facilities inspected from 7,913 in 2021 to 9,829 in 2022.
In the area of import and export controls, FDA’s operations increased by a significant margin of 36 per cent. Other presentations made highlighted the number of street food vendors licensed with permits, FDA’s market surveillance activities and product quality testing done in 2022.
As part of the FDA’s mandate to advise the Health Minister on measures for the protection of consumer wellbeing, the Authority proposed some relevant amendments to parts 6, 7 and 8 of the Public Health Act 851 and advocated for a stand-alone Act that would guide its operations.
Despite the significant achievements in 2022, the operations of the Authority were met with many challenges. Some of the key challenges identified are inadequate vehicles and other logistics for inspections, ageing laboratory equipment and the absence of a module for processing exports on the ICUMS, amongst others.
The Chief Executive Officer, Dr Delese Darko assured stakeholders that the Authority was putting in measures to improve its regulatory processes.
She called for improved conditions of service to help retain the highly trained staff of the Authority.
To help improve the financial state of the Authority, she asked that FDA should be allowed to retain all its internally generated funds or at least the service charges.
Present at the meeting were members of the FDA Governing Board, and representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, GSA, Customs and the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) as well as some trade organisations.
