The Gambia is a member of the 194 member states of the WHO as referenced in the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005). Article 21(c) and (d) of the Constitution of WHO signed 22 July 1946 and entered into force 07 April 1948 stressed standards with respect to diagnostic procedures for international use as well as respects to the safety, purity and potency of pharmaceutical products moving in international commerce.
State Parties in Africa must learn from The Gambia’s case to appreciate the treaty for the establishment of the proposed African Medicines Agency (AMA) adopted in Addis Ababa on 11 February 2019. Today, this evening, I checked the status list of this treaty and saw that Gambia is among the countries refusing to submit it’s signature as at 27 April 2022.
To escape the trouble of medical commerce, State Parties must come together and harmonize regulations to protect our medical market from drugs out of specification. How can we be safe when drugs can specifically be produced for African’s medical market, while not even a diagnostic stick produced in Senegal fails to meet international standards for european export.
Apparently, in The Gambia, our medical supply chain is infected with corruption and nepotism. A country where medical and related products regulators are conflicted as license holders and inspectors at the same time. But then, who cares?
