General News of Friday, 10 March 2017
Source: ultimatefmonline.com
2017-03-10
Delese A.A Darko, CEO – Food and Drugs Authority
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is calling on the public to ignore media publications suggesting that poisonous drugs have hit the market.
Some news portals reported that there are poisonous drugs on the market.
But the FDA in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mrs Delese A.A Darko, it said ‘The said publication is not only full of factual inaccuracies but also misleading and dangerous in that it seeks to create unnecessary panic and erosion of confidence in the ability of the local pharmaceutical industry to produce quality, safe and efficacious’.
The FDA assured that it remains committed to ensuring protection of public health and safety at all times.
Read details of the statement:
Press release: false alarm – poisonous drugs hit market
It has come to the attention of the Food and Drugs Authority, a publication in the 7th March 2017 edition of the Business Day Newspaper, with caption “Poisonous Drugs Hit Market” which alleges that Ghana was ranked as the sixth (6th) fake drug producer in 2013 by the EU.
The FDA wishes to inform the general public especially the media that the information is false and should be ignored.
The said publication is not only full of factual inaccuracies but also misleading and dangerous in that it seeks to create unnecessary panic and erosion of confidence in the ability of the local pharmaceutical industry to produce quality, safe and efficacious medicines; as well as the ability of the FDA to protect public health and safety by way of ensuring the availability of quality, safe and efficacious medicines in the market.
The FDA would like to inform the public that the chart (as published) purported to portray Ghana as the sixth (6th) ranked producer of fake medicines is not about medicines at all. The chart was taken from a 2013 report on seizures made at the borders by EU customs in relation to suspected violations of Intellectual Property Rights. The seizures involved assorted products including luxury goods such as watches, sunglasses and clothing. Ghana’s bit was on detention of large shipments of batteries not fake medicines as alleged in the publication (Ref: http://sips.gov.ua/i_upload/file/twinning-presentations/en/14_2013_ipr_statistics_en.pdf).
The FDA wishes to assure the public that adequate regulatory measures are in place in line with international best practices to ensure public health and safety and these measures are regularly reviewed to ascertain and improve their continued effectiveness.
It must be noted that the FDA’s laboratory is ISO 17025 accredited and has the largest scope of accreditation in the whole of Africa.
Additionally, the FDA has a safety monitoring system for drugs (pharmacovigilance) which has been highly rated in sub-Saharan Africa and is part of a consortium designated as a Regional Centre of Regulatory Excellence (RCORE) in Pharmacovigilance by NEPAD and the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization. The FDA is also designated (by the same international bodies) as a RCORE in Medicine Evaluation and Registration.
In view of the FDA’s stringent regulatory measures, The World Health Organisation (WHO) has on several occasions recommended several countries on the continent to understudy Ghana FDA’s regulatory systems.
The FDA wishes to assure the general public that it remains committed to ensuring protection of public health and safety at all times.
The general public is further encouraged to provide information on any practice or activity that is likely to endanger public health and safety with respect to FDA’s mandate through any of the following numbers 0244337235, 0244571563, 0208204968.
You may also reach the FDA through our hotlines (0299802932 / 0299802933), toll free 0800151000 (free only on Airtel and Vodafone) and SMS short code 4015 (all networks except Glo).
DELESE A. A. DARKO (MRS.)
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
