Ghana became the second country in the WHO African Region to attain regulatory system “Maturity Level 3” – the second-highest in the four-tiered WHO classification of national medicines regulatory systems. Evaluations of Ghana Food and Drugs Authority – the national regulatory body for medicines – were carried out in 2014, 2015 and 2019 through the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool.
WHO supports medicine regulation by developing internationally recognized norms, standards and guidelines, and by providing technical assistance and training to enable countries to implement global guidelines to meet their specific health needs.
WHO assessments of national regulatory systems aim to strengthen oversight and identify both strengths and gaps to inform technical support.
Ghana’s achievement reaffirms the collaboration between WHO and governments towards realizing the targets of universal health coverage and sustainable development goals. Among WHO African Region’s 47 countries, Ghana and Tanzania are the only two to have attained a Level 3 ranking. Tanzania achieved the classification in November 2018. WHO is working with countries in the region to improve the performance of their national regulatory systems and facilitate comprehensive oversight of medical products.
Read the full story: Ghana bolsters medicines regulatory system, guarantees product quality