x

Nigeria to start manufacturing vaccines – NAFDAC

Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has disclosed that Nigeria will start manufacturing vaccines soon.

Adeyeye who said this at NAFDAC’s Staff Recognition Award Ceremony for 2019 and 2020 on Friday December 18, said the upgrading of existing laboratories across the country and achieving the ISO 9001 in June 2019, which is the world’s most recognised Quality Management System (QMS) standard, places the country in good standing to strive to get to maturity level three, which enables the country manufacture its own vaccines.

She said;

“NAFDAC is a leading national regulator in Africa. The Agency is driven by international standards and best practices.

“Our new normal started three years ago when we started quality management system that now makes us to focus more on the customers, the image of the organisation in order to ensure that we are a standard operating procedure-driven organisation. This led us to achieving ISO 9001 in 2019 June. We moved on to the global benchmarking where we adopted international best practices and we are still adopting international best practices.

“With regards to the establishment of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) global benchmarking and adoption of international best practices, we want to get to maturity level three so that Nigeria can manufacture her own vaccines, and we are all working on this every day.

“We are upgrading the agency’s laboratories to international standards using equipment that are compliant to ISO 17025. NAFDAC laboratories are changing very rapidly with improvements in new equipment and supplies.

“Our four laboratories that were accredited before I came have received re-accreditation. We have also gotten a new lab – the Yaba Biologies and Vaccines Lab accredited for the first time. And our two other labs will be accredited very soon.

“In similar efforts to enhance the local production of pharmaceuticals in Nigeria, the agency has renewed and updated its 5 + 5 validity policy because we want local content. We want more local manufacturing – to reverse it from 70 percent imports to 70 percent locally manufactured products.

“We are building traceability because our supply chain is chaotic to say the least. Now we have adopted traceability of track and trace that will make sure that the products that leave the manufacturers site is what the patient is taking. This is a technologically-driven initiative, and NAFDAC is the second country in Africa to adopt this. We are using this for covid-19 vaccines when they come.

“NAFDAC is leading on the continent in terms of ensuring that the covid-19 vaccines can be tracked and traced to the patients and also adverse long reactions can be monitored. This is our new normal and it is because we are changing the way we think because we want to safeguard the health of our people.”

On the agency’s finances, Adeyeye added;

“We created directorate for cost budgeting because part of quality management system is to have financial sanity. I inherited N3.2 billion debt.

“NAFDAC is now solvent because we have removed NAFDAC from insolvency by paying the debt of N3.01 billion in one year. We have learnt lessons, and we are still learning lessons of how not to be wasteful, and how to conserve for the rainy day.”

Hot this week

Editors Urge Government To Create Safe, Enabling Environment For Journalists

· Ask security agents to find missing Vanguard journalistAs...

EXCLUSIVE: Buhari orders probe of Isa Funtua, AMCON over keystone and Etisalat

Following the controversy generated by the leading opposition party,...

6 Signs your boyfriend thinks you are ugly -Take note of No. 2

They say there are three kinds of people; the...

2023: South-East, Middle Belt Forum Endorses Peter Obi

The South-East and Middle Belt Forum has endorsed the...

Edo governor plays host to Delta Speaker, members in Benin

By Anne Azuka Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has ...

Sokoto State to Strengthen Partnership With European Union 

By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto The Sokoto State Government has reaffirmed...

SOKOTO L-PRES Project Organizes Training On Productivity And Technology Adoption 

By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support...

CSO tasks Gov Eno on A’Ibom University of Education Bill

By Ogenyi Ogenyi,UyoA civil society-cum-human rights organisation in Nigeria,...

Oron Union Celebrates 100 Years of Unity and Cultural Renaissance

By Ogenyi Ogenyi,UyoThe Oron Union, one of Nigeria’s oldest...

JUST IN: Lagos Council Chairman Kolade Alabi Collapses During APC Meeting

Kolade Alabi, Chairman of Bariga Local Government Area and...

NMA Applauds Gov. Otti for Approving 100% Salary Increase for Doctors

The Abia State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img